Hateful Jealousy
by coco42
Summary: All his life, Lovino's been jealous of his brother and resentful of his relationship. It seems like his brother gets everything and is the lucky one and he hates it. He'd do anything to break that apart. Then he meets the mysterious Antonio who quickly develops a fondness for him. Can Antonio thaw out Lovino's frozen heart?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hi, everyone, well looks like it's finally here. It took a while to finally get started but without anything to really do at this time, I thought that it would be a perfect time to start writing stories.

The main paring is Spain and Romano. Another paring (although to a lesser degree) will be Germany and Italy but they are there to just help the story along. There will be other pairings but only in minor appearances (I'm only thinking about it so don't quote me on that.)

Warnings: Human names used. Language, violence, depression, and suicidal attempts (for now). I know short list right? Yeah, well when I first came up with this story those were just the things that were included.

Ok, I should wrap this up before I start to ramble. As with any other story, if you have time please read and review. And this is my first story so please be nice! : ). It'll only get better over time (my story writing that is).

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**Chapter 1**

Hate and jealousy are terrible things.

But what else could he feel?

All his life things had been taken from him.

So it was only natural that he would grow up bitter and cynical.

Lovino was bitter at the world and jealous of his brother who seemed get _everything._

He could never seem to get any happiness for himself and when he _did,_ it all came crashing down and whatever happiness he seemed to have was ripped away unforgivingly.

Almost as if he was _meant _to be unhappy.

Lovino walked down the street thinking to himself, minding his own business, when all of a sudden, he heard _his _voice and he suddenly had a scowl on his face.

"Oh Luddy, I love you so much!"

Lovino scoffed angrily as his brother Feliciano and his boyfriend Ludwig rounded the corner arm in arm (or rather Feliciano's arms wrapped around Ludwig's arm).

Ludwig sighed tiredly, "I wish you wouldn't say that so loud in public" Ludwig said, cheeks red.

"But why?" Feliciano said pouting slightly.

"I don't really like blatant public displays of affections, plus…it's kind of embarrassing when people look towards us when you yell like that."

"So…are you embarrassed of me…Luddy?" Feliciano said sadly.

"No, no i-it's not like that! It's just a little uncomfortable that's all. And besides…you're cute so I can't really be embarrassed knowing I have you." Ludwig said cheeks turning even redder.

Feliciano laughed. Oh, Luddy, I'm just joking! You're so easy to trick!" Feliciano giggled.

Ludwig could only sigh in exasperation, face burning with embarrassment.

Lovino, watching from across the street could only make a disgusted face.

"Ugh, disgusting." He said bitterly.

It wasn't really that he minded Feliciano being with anybody; it was just that he didn't like his brother being with _him._

He hated, _hated_ his brother being in a relationship with that damn German. Of all the people, why did it have to be _him?_

He hated their relationship _so_ much that he sometimes would go out of his way to break them up. But every time he tried to sabotage them, it never seemed to work which only ended up in him being disappointed with the results.

He wasn't always so bitter, it was just that that was how he grew up and over the years it just seemed to become a_ part_ of him.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he didn't feel that that damn German had _stolen _Feliciano from him. Just when they had started to reconnect, here _he _comes and swoops him up.

And he _hated_ Ludwig for that.

Continuing his walk down the street, he decided that he would go to his special place he always went to to cool himself down after something had pissed him off.

At the end of the sidewalk, he cut off and went through the woods.

Lovino walked through the woods for a while making his way to his special place.

Oh, Lovino _loved _that place. It was his and _only_ his and _no one _could take that away from him. Not even that damn German.

He could feel his mood lightening as he got closer and closer.

And there it was.

A cliff overlooking the ocean and the horizon out far in the distance and it was a beautiful day and the water and sky were so _blue._ It was just _breathtaking._

Yes, this was his place. All his, and he adored it because he could do anything here, say anything here and it was so beautiful and so _secret._

As he came to the clearing, he walked over to the edge and sat down, legs dangling over the edge. It wasn't dangerous to him. The cliff wasn't necessarily _that _high to cause fear but it was still a long ways down and whoever fell could get hurt and it didn't seem like it was high enough to kill anyone. Plus there was water there and it was better to hit water from a high place than solid ground.

Though water could still _hurt _if hit from high enough and even then a person still had a chance of surviving.

To what extent Lovino did not know but he decided that he would rather not think about it.

He had come here to_ relax _not to think about people falling possibly to their deaths.

His favorite part of coming here perhaps was to watch the ocean moving and churning. Sometimes he would even see the occasional whale breaching. But even more than that, his favorite part of this place was sunset.

To see the sky and ocean turn a bright orange as the sun set behind the horizon was simply too beautiful for words. It was something a person had to _see._

Sunset was hours away from now, but he didn't mind waiting since it was still nice to just sit there during the day.

Perfectly relaxed, Lovino laid back and stared at the sky and let his mind wander as he took in the sight of the clouds movingly slowly across the sky.

Suddenly his mind drifted back to Feliciano and that damn German walking down the street earlier.

He didn't _want_ to think about them and he was not entirely sure why his mind had drifted to them in the first place. And it was with a growl of frustration that he shook his head to clear them from his mind before he got angry again.

But it was too late.

The thought of his brother clinging to _him _like a child and proclaiming his love was enough to make him want to vomit.

Not wanting to ruin his time in his secret place Lovino tried to calm down.

"Deep breaths, Lovino, don't even think about them. You came here to _relax_ and not _think_ about anything. You're in your happy place and that's all that matters" he said.

After few minutes of deep breathing, Lovino finally calmed down with a sigh.

"Ahh, that's better. Normally, that wouldn't have worked and I still would have been pissed, but thank God, I'm here" Lovino said contently.

There was the sound of a horn in the distance.

Lovino got back up and squinting his eyes, he could see a ship in the distance.

The size, shape, and color suggested that it was a cruise ship and seeing that it was Lovino could only sigh sadly.

"I wish _I _could go on a cruise. Too bad I don't have the money" he said darkly.

Suddenly, with an overwhelming force, as if the word "cruise" triggered it, the memory of _that _day came. That horrible unspeakable day that he had tried his best to forget.

There he was on the dock. Him, Feliciano, and that damn German.

All was supposed to be good. All was supposed to be well.

But there they were. Feliciano jittering about _something _with that "dumb guy" smile, Ludwig with his hand on his shoulder smiling warmly and Lovino with a look of utter confusion upon his face.

"Alright, what did you call me out here for dumb-dumb?" Lovino said impatiently and arms crossed.

As Lovino narrowed his eyes at Feliciano, he knew. He _suspected _that something was going on.

It was _too _obvious with the way Feliciano was bouncing up and down giggling like an idiot.

Like he had a secret that he was _dying _to tell someone. Like something was about to overflow.

A dam that was about to break from the stress of holding back so much information.

"Well, I was going to tell you but I'll just let Feliciano blurt it out thoughtlessly" Ludwig chuckled.

"Tell me what?" Lovino said, eyes narrowing at Ludwig and tapping his foot impatiently.

"We're going on a cruise!" Feliciano blurted out unable to hold the news any longer and arms flailing in the air wildly.

"W-What?" Lovino stuttered letting his arms fall to his sides.

"We're going on a cruise!" Feliciano repeated, albeit quieter than he originally had.

Lovino could only look at the both of them eyes wide with what could have shock and awe.

And it was then that he smiled greatly.

"Really!" he said excitedly as he took up Feliciano's hands in his own and jumping with him.

"Yeah! Isn't it great!" Feliciano cried happily.

"Yeah! So when are we leaving?" Lovino asked excitedly.

A halt in movement.

A strained sound from Ludwig.

"U-Uh" Feliciano stuttered.

"Uh what?" Lovino said still smiling.

"W-Well" Feliciano started unable to find the words.

"Well _what_?" Lovino said desperately wanting to hear the news.

"U-uh w-well…" Feliciano started again but faltered.

"_Tell _me dammit!" Lovino said.

"Uh maybe _I _should tell him" Ludwig offered.

"No, Luddy, it's ok. I want to tell him" Feliciano said back to him.

If it wasn't obvious to Lovino that something was up before, _now _it was.

"Well..." Feliciano started for a third time. "W-when we said that we were going on a cruise…uh w-we meant _we_ as in me and Luddy. _We _are going on a cruise" he said stepping back to Ludwig's side. "N-not you" he finally admitted.

For a quick moment, Lovino's smiled faltered.

But quickly came back up.

He laughed nervously. "W-what are you talking about? Q-quit joking, dummy. I know it's a joke. I mean that's why you brought me out here right? To show me what the ship looks like." Lovino said motioning to the massive cruise ship at the dock. "A-and besides you _know_ it's been my dream to go on one. So that's how I _know _your joking" he said confidently.

Feliciano and Ludwig both exchanged worried looks and Feliciano walked forward again.

"No, Lovino" he began "I-it's not a joke" he said looking him in the eyes.

And just the way he stared at his brother…the _look _in his eyes that never once faltered told Lovino that Feliciano was serious.

Still desperately trying to cling to the idea that this whole thing was a joke he began again.

"N-no…you're _lying!_" Lovino almost screeched.

Feliciano could only shake his head slowly

And it was then that Lovino wrenched his hand away from Feliciano as if just _touching_ him would burn him.

And just the look of _hurt_ in his eye was almost too much for Feliciano to bear. Almost like Lovino was on the verge of tears.

"W-why" Lovino stuttered, voice breaking.

"We only had enough money for two people. It would have been too much for three people." Feliciano said trying to calm his brother down.

Lovino just gave him a look that said bitterly, 'I don't believe you.'

Feliciano took up his hand again and said, "Please, Lovino believe me! I-if we had enough money, we would have _gladly_ taken you! Right Luddy?" Feliciano said looking at Ludwig for help.

Ludwig nodded and said, "Yeah, of course."

Lovino ripped his hand away again angrily. "Why didn't you tell me!" he yelled.

"Because we wanted it to be a surprise!" Feliciano tried to explain.

"And you break it to me like _this_! On a dock next to something I'll never get to _ride!_ Lovino screamed.

"Well we thought it would be good for you to see where we would be leaving from! Plus the ship is really pretty don't you think?" Feliciano said trying to calm Lovino down.

"I don't care_ what_ the ship looks like! Why would you _do _this to me!" Lovino said, still yelling.

"Come on Lovino, it wasn't supposed to be like this. I thought you would be happy" Feliciano paused. "A-and as for when we're leaving i-its tomorrow" he said barely above a whisper.

The color drained from Lovino's face then as he had a look of complete horror on his face.

"T-tomorrow!" he stuttered.

"Y-yeah" Feliciano admitted.

"Tomorrow! Why would you wait until _now _to tell me this!" Lovino yelled.

"We were afraid you'd try to stop us from going and I _really _wanted to go. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner" Feliciano lamented.

"So what you're just gonna _leave _me here while you go off and have the time of your _life_!" Lovino said angrily.

Ludwig seeing that Feliciano needed help finally decided to step in.

"Come on, Lovino it's not that bad it's just a cruise" he said trying to do damage control.

"_You _stay out of this!" Lovino said threateningly to Ludwig.

"You _knew _I've wanted to go on a cruise and you want to show the opportunity to me and then take it away? How the _fuck _can you _do _this to me!" Lovino continued at Feliciano.

Feliciano couldn't answer. The guilt of bringing this on Lovino at the last minute was too much.

"How long?" Lovino said hanging his head, eyes dark and voice thin.

"How long what?" Feliciano asked

"How long are you going to be gone?" Lovino exploded.

"Um…two weeks I think?" Feliciano said lowly.

And it was then that Lovino looked up and clenched his hands and gave Feliciano the angriest look he had ever given anyone.

Oh, if looks could kill.

"Please, Lovino don't be mad…I'm sorry. I really am. We can go on another cruise one day and next time you can come too, ok?" Feliciano said trying to diffuse Lovino's anger.

By this time, Lovino had become despondent and he could only stare at his brother.

Taking a great breath, Lovino smiled.

"Fine, we can do that. I'm sorry I overreacted. Go on, enjoy your cruise" he said.

Feliciano and Ludwig exchanged confused looks.

"Uh…you're not mad?" Feliciano asked.

"Mad? No, I'm not mad" Lovino said still smiling.

"A-are you sure?" Ludwig said.

"Nope, I'm perfectly fine."

After eyeing him for a while Feliciano sighed in relief.

"That's good, I thought you'd be mad" he said laughing.

"Nope, I told you I'm ok." Lovino reassured.

"Good. Now let's go home" Feliciano said "I'm getting hungry."

And with that they walked off the dock and got in Ludwig's car.

Feliciano, instead of sitting in the front with Ludwig, he sat in the back just to keep an eye on him and just watched him occasionally from the corner of his eye.

And all the while to their house, there was something stirring behind Lovino's eyes even though he was still smiling. Something Feliciano was afraid of.

The calm before the storm.

Lovino could remember vividly the night after Feliciano told him the news.

The night before they left wasn't as bad. But the night _after _they left was absolutely _horrible._

After everyone had went to bed after a _very _uncomfortable dinner, Lovino laid in his bed staring up at the ceiling unable to sleep.

How could he? When his brother and the man he hated were going to live _his_ dream.

To feel the engine churning under their feet.

To feel the ship rocking this way and that as the waves lapped up against the hull and seeing the seagulls flying and dolphins swimming alongside the ship as people smiled and took pictures.

It was too much to know that they could possibly see and experience that all _without _him.

Lovino spent most of the night tossing and turning thinking about what he would never get to experience.

Once he finally_ did _get to sleep, it didn't even seem like hours had passed before he was woken up from his sleep.

Feliciano had woken him up by shaking him gently. "Lovino, wake up we're going to leave soon."

Lovino grumbled sleepily as he rubbed his eyes.

"Get ready, we're almost done gathering our luggage so meet us downstairs when you're ready, ok?"

"Yeah, yeah" Lovino grumbled.

Feliciano walked towards the door and he gave a concerned look to Lovino before he walked out.

Stupid Feliciano he thought.

'Please, Lovino it would really mean a lot to me if you came to see us off.'

Sure, he'd go if only just to see the massive ship take off from the dock. Bidding them farewell was the least of his concerns.

But he'd still at least _try_ to say goodbye only so his brother won't be worried about him his entire trip.

A pair of pants and a shirt later, he was ready to go. He looked in the mirror so see if he needed to brush his hair but he dismissed it when he thought he looked decent.

As he descended the stairs, he saw that Ludwig and Feliciano were putting their things in the taxi.

He couldn't be bothered to help them

After all it was their trip why should _he _help?

Ten minutes later they piled in the car and set off for the docks.

Again Feliciano sat in back with Lovino making sure he was ok.

To try and ease the tense atmosphere, Feliciano reached over and grabbed up Lovino's hand and squeezed tightly and tried to give his best smile despite the circumstances.

Lovino, feeling the contact only looked down and his hand in Feliciano's and turned his attention back to the scenery passing by.

Once they got there, the place was crowded with people boarding the ship and people bidding farewell to their loved ones and friends.

A time that was supposed to cheerful and happy.

This was obviously not the case with Lovino.

They got out of the car and started unpacking (at least Ludwig and Feliciano were, Lovino stood by watching the people board the vessel).

After they were done, the ship's horn reverberated throughout the dock.

"Ten minutes 'till departure!" said the ticket taker.

"Well, Lovino see you in two weeks." Ludwig said patting him on the shoulder.

It took all of his will power to not slap his hand away and say 'Fuck you, don't touch me.'

"Yeah, Lovino we'll see you later. I promise I'll bring you back a souvenir or something. I'll look really hard, ok?" he said hugging Lovino tightly. "I'll miss you" he said softly.

Lovino didn't hug back. It hurt him too much to know that this thing seemed to be planned behind his back.

And as an afterthought, before letting go Feliciano added softly, "Lovino…please be careful…we'll be back soon I promise. You won't even know we're gone."

Ha.

Not know they're gone?

Yeah right.

He watched them as they ascended the ramp.

A few minutes later and the ship's horn once again sounded throughout the dock.

Lovino heard the massive engine roar to life and saw the water churning behind the ship.

If it weren't under the circumstances he would have _enjoyed _watching the ship sail off.

But he just couldn't enjoy it. Not when his brother was off to enjoy a cruise.

A cruise with _him._

As the ship started pulling out of the dock, he looked up after hearing Feliciano yell down to him waving while dragging Ludwig to the back of the ship.

'_God,_ Feliciano is so _loud'_ Lovino thought.

Weakly, Lovino raised his arm up and waved and tried to give his best smile as they got further and further away from the dock.

Feliciano feeling ever guiltier as they watched Lovino get further and further wondered if all this was worth it.

Ludwig, sensing Feliciano's distress squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.

"It'll be ok. Don't worry about it" he said trying to lift Feliciano's spirits.

"Do you think he'll be ok?" Feliciano said turning to Ludwig.

"He'll be fine. Don't worry he can take care of himself" he said.

"Oh, I hope you're right" Feliciano said burying his face in Ludwig's chest as strong arms wrapped around him.

Back at the docks Lovino watched as the ship sailed off towards the horizon and the crowd of people start to disperse.

Once everyone had left, Lovino still stood there watching the ship, now a tiny speck, on the horizon get smaller and smaller.

Once it was gone, the full reality of what happened hit him.

And it hit him like a ton of bricks.

He hadn't wanted to believe it but seeing it actually happen right in front of him was too much to bear.

Letting his arm fall back to his side, it was with a pang of hurt that the first tear rolled down his cheek.

And then another.

And finally the flood gates opened and his eyes overflowing with tears.

So much so that his vision blurred.

He then turned on his heel and walked down the street, hands in his pockets, tears still flowing down his cheeks.

The walk home wasn't that far of a walk.

Only about fifteen or twenty minutes.

A car was just a convenience.

But still walking down the street _this_ day seemed to take forever.

He sped up his pace so that people wouldn't see him crying walking down the street.

God, what would they think?

He had finally stopped crying about halfway home and he was now in sulking mode.

When he finally got home, he opened the door and just stood there.

A big empty house.

And he would be alone for two weeks.

Closing the door behind him, he walked into the living room and collapsed on the couch.

Uncomfortable with the silence, he reached over to the remote and turned on the TV.

He watched it without really watching it not really paying attention to the dialogue.

All he could gather was that it was some sort of sitcom with canned laughter.

Sure, he got a chuckle every now and again but he was just too numb from the day's events to really watch it.

Before he knew it, it was sunset. A very low one.

Night had come a little too fast for his tastes.

And that was the thing that he had been _dreading_.

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Well, what did you guys think? How was it for the first chapter? Like I said before my writing will only get better with time once I learn to get used to storytelling. Next chapter coming soon! Look forward to Antonio's appearance! : ).

P.S. Sorry, but I suck at summaries. It's kinda hard to give a good summary in a few sentence allowance.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hi, everyone, sorry for the delay in updates and thank you for being so patient. I read the reviews (and saw all the favorites and subscriptions) and so far everyone is liking the story! Thank you for being supportive! It gives me the confidence to keep going.

And by the way, just so you know, updates may be slow from time to time, I'm hoping it will only be a week or so between updates if I'm busy at the moment what with school and everything. Well, here you go the next chapter. Long chapter since you all were _so _patient. : ).

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**Chapter 2**

As the sun set lower and lower, Lovino could feel his mood darkening like the soon to be night sky.

He knew it was going to have to come eventually, but _God_, it was _too _soon for him.

When the sun finally set, he heaved a great sigh of sadness, got up off of the couch and lumbered off towards his bedroom.

Peeling off his clothes, and placing them neatly on a chair, he crawled into bed.

God, he just wanted to go to sleep so he wouldn't have to feel alone in the house.

At least in his dreams he wouldn't be alone since there were still people in it.

Even if they weren't even real.

Trying to close his eyes, he tried to go to sleep.

But it wouldn't work.

He was too depressed about having his dream ripped violently away from him.

He tried everything he could think of to help him go to sleep.

Counting backwards.

Didn't work.

Counting sheep.

Nope.

Running in place to tire himself out.

Try again.

Even listening to music.

Uh-uh.

Finally, unable to fall asleep, Lovino just gave a heavy sigh and decided to give up.

He just stared up at the ceiling, not knowing what else to do.

Twenty minutes of staring later, he was still wide awake.

An hour or so later, and still wide awake, Lovino started tossing and turning in frustration.

"Rrgh, why can't I go to sleep?" Lovino growled. "It shouldn't be this hard…"

Turning on his side, Lovino looked out of his bed room window.

A beautiful night.

Bright stars.

Millions of them.

Even the Milky Way decided to show up tonight.

A sight that would normally make one stare up in awe, only brought Lovino more sadness.

"I wonder what the sky looks like from a cruise ship" Lovino said absentmindedly. "I bet…really…b-beautiful" Lovino said voice breaking slightly.

Lovino sniffled as his eyes started welling up with tears.

Trying not to cry, Lovino tried his best to blink back tears and wiping away some that threatened to fall.

"D-Dammit, Lovino, d-do _not _c-cry" he said sniffling and rubbing his eyes. "Y-You're strong-g-ger than th-that" he said trying to convince himself. "S-So what if they denied you an opportunity that you w-wanted for you whole l-life and they left you to go h-have fun…" he said shutting his eyes tightly so that no tears would come through. "Y-You know what? Sc-Screw them! I-I don't c-care one b-bit!" he said voice trembling uncontrollably.

Then finally unable to contain it, Lovino burst into tears.

He tried cupping his hand over his mouth to stifle his sobbing, but it did very little to help.

Tears streaming from his face, he pulled the covers up over himself and sobbed into his pillow.

No matter how hard he tried to stop crying, he just couldn't.

The days' previous events had too much of an effect on him and he bottled it all up.

The crying on the way home was just a minor slip up.

Now, the flood gates were wide open and would not shut for who knows how long.

Lovino's body was shaking uncontrollably from his sobbing.

He clutched his pillow wanting someone desperately to hold him and comfort him and tell him that 'Everything will be ok'.

He couldn't stop crying because they had left him, and he was so hurt and so _alone._

Two weeks all alone in that big house was too much for him. Just the thought of him spending two weeks alone with nothing but the furniture keeping him company only made him sob harder.

Bitterly, he wished that the ship would crash.

That'll teach them from taking his dream away from him.

And after that thought, he hated himself instantly for wishing such a thing upon his brother because if something really _did_ happen and the ship really _did_ crash, or even worse, _sink_, then he would _really_ be alone and he would feel even _worse_ because he would lose the _only_ family he has. Plus, he wasn't sure of his brother's ability to be able to survive a sinking ship.

His pillow was getting soaked from all the tears, but he didn't care.

He spent the next few hours crying and blaming himself.

The first hour was just nonstop crying. He was surprised that he even had that many tears to begin with.

The next few hours were just spiraling depression as he started blaming himself.

Like maybe _he _was the reason why the trip may have been planned behind his back.

"What did I do, Feliciano?" he started. "What did I do to make you hurt me like this? I thought I was a good big brother. I-I was w-wasn't I? I made you happy, right? Didn't I make you happy? A-At least once?" he said burying his face deeper into his pillow. "I-Is that why you started going out with that _stupid_ German? B-Because I did something to make you mad? W-Whatever I did to make you mad…I-I'm sorry…I'm sorry, ok? Lovino said sadly.

The tears started up again and it wasn't until a few more hours of tossing and turning that Lovino finally cried himself to sleep in the wet spot that he formed with his tears on the pillow.

He had spent most of the night crying and tossing and turning, but he had finally fallen asleep even if it wasn't under the best circumstances.

He only slept for a short time before daybreak came and around noon to about one o'clock, he would awake to the slowest two weeks that he would ever know.

Lovino couldn't recall what exactly he did during those two weeks because he was in such a haze that he barely remembered any of it. All he knew was that he pretty much wandered the house aimlessly, without a purpose and before he knew it, the two weeks were up and he didn't even realize it until he had gotten a call from a very excited Feliciano (who was shouting because of the people in the background) telling him that they would be docking in the next few hours.

Lovino was busy eating at the time (slowly and uninterested at that) when all of a sudden.

_Ring, ring, ring._

_Ring, ring, ring._

Lovino, stopped eating and looked up slowly and just stared at the phone for a short while before getting up and walking towards it, shoulders slumped and feet dragging.

When he finally got to it, he picked it up slowly and brought it up to his face.

"…Hello?" he said voice low and uninterested.

"Hello?" came the response. "Lovino?" said Feliciano. "Lovino, the trip is over! We'll be back in a few hours! Come see us get off the ship when we get back! I have _sooo_ much to tell you. It was _amazing_!" Feliciano shouted over the phone.

"What?" Lovino said coming back down to Earth shortly. "Two weeks is over already?" he said confused.

"U-Um…y-yeah" came the worried reply. "U-Uh, L-Lovino? A-Are you alright? …You sound…weird. You didn't have a bad time did you?" Feliciano asked.

"Uh-n-no, no, I-I'm ok…really" Lovino said hurriedly. "S-so when are you coming back again?" Lovino said trying to change the subject.

"Oh…o-ok then. We'll be back in a few hours. Come and see us come in and dock and we can catch up, ok?" said Feliciano.

"Ok, I'll be there. So what? You'll be here at three? four?" Lovino asked.

"Umm, about four? Maybe?" Feliciano said.

"Ok. I'll be there. See you at four" Lovino said.

"Ok! Bye!" Feliciano said and hung up.

Lovino sighed and hung up the phone before looking up at the clock on the wall.

1 o'clock.

Feliciano wouldn't be back until 4 o'clock so he had some time to kill.

Lovino sighed again.

"Nothing to do anyway. Might as well wait" he said.

With that, Lovino turned around and walked to the couch and plopped himself down and just sat there staring at nothing.

He reached over and turned the T.V. on with the remote.

Flipping through the channels, he didn't find anything worth watching so he just settled on some T.V. sitcom.

Lovino sighed again. "There's nothing on T.V. these days" he said absentmindedly. "I guess I'll watch it" he said.

Looking closely, Lovino realized that it was the same sitcom that he had watched the day Feliciano and Ludwig left.

He saw that it was the sitcom "Two and a Half Men."

Sitting and barely watching the show, Lovino's mind wondered what Feliciano got him as a gift.

"Well, he did promise, right?" he said.

His attention was drawn back to the T.V. when something funny happened and the canned laugher played out.

"Heh, heh, heh…Charlie Sheen's a funny bastard" Lovino chuckled.

Two and a half hours of chuckling later (as it was a mini marathon), Lovino looked up at the clock.

Three-thirty.

Feliciano would be coming in in about thirty minutes.

Turning off the T.V., Lovino got off of the couch and walked towards the door.

By the time he got to the docks, Feliciano should be arriving just on the horizon.

Setting off down the sidewalk, Lovino wondered what endless story Feliciano would tell him, anxiously.

"Hmph, probably about him and that stupid German" Lovino grumbled.

'Oh, Luddy was _sooo _romantic, Lovino! You should have seen it! I didn't think I'd _ever _stop blushing!' Lovino mocked.

He stuck out his tongue and made a disgusted face.

"Like I'd ever _ever_ want to see something like _that_" Lovino grumbled.

Putting his hands in his pockets, he sped up his pace not wanting to have to push his way this way and that through the screaming crowd that was sure to gather, sifting through them looking for Feliciano.

He couldn't care less about Ludwig.

He could get _lost _for all he cared.

And sure enough, about twenty minutes later, when he finally reached the docks, he could see the crowd starting to gather.

Thank God he had left when he did, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to get through the people at _all_.

He looked at his watch.

Ten minutes.

"Feliciano will be here in ten minutes" Lovino said to himself.

He could hear a horn in the distance and when he looked towards the direction it came from, he saw that it was the cruise ship.

Massive and white, sun gleaming off of the paint and windows was a dead giveaway.

He looked around his surroundings and saw that more and more people were gathering around him getting steadily excited the closer the vessel got.

The ship was halfway to the harbor when the people started screaming and yelling.

"Ugh, geez calm down people" Lovino said to himself.

He looked up at the ship and saw people waving and screaming back.

Lovino gave another sigh.

He watched the ship get closer and closer and then out of nowhere, he heard Feliciano.

"Lovino! LOVINO! Hi! It's nice to see you again!" Feliciano screamed.

Lovino just looked up at him and could only think, 'does he have to be so _loud_ all the damn time?'

The ship finally docked and a few minutes later, the passengers started getting off of the ship.

A swarm of people walking towards their family and loved ones exchanging greetings and embraces.

A sight to see.

When Feliciano finally got off he and Lovino met each other's eyes and Feliciano, with a wide smile handed his luggage to Ludwig and set off full sprint towards Lovino, arms out.

Lovino, eyes growing wider and wider as his brother got closer and closer got scared as he had a feeling that his brother hadn't figured out to stop or slow down yet.

"Lovino, I missed you!" he yelled.

It was with a grunt that Lovino felt Feliciano crash into him which almost sent the both of them tumbling backwards and hold him in a crushing embrace.

"Oh, Lovino, I missed you _sooo _much!" Feliciano repeated again.

"Hrgh…y-yeah…I-I missed y-you too" Lovino said, struggling for air. "U-Uh…Feliciano…y-you can let go now" Lovino rasped.

Feliciano, not hearing Lovino, too exicted to see his brother, only squeezed harder.

"Oh, wow. You look so _different_ after not seeing you for two weeks. Are you ok? Is there anything I can do for you? Feliciano said cheerfully.

"Stop…trying to break me in half?" Lovino said, struggling to breathe.

"Deal!" Feliciano said, letting go. Seeing Lovino trying to catch his breath, Feliciano started again. "...Oh! I'm so sorry Lovino! I'm just so excited to see you is all!" Feliciano said trying to explain himself.

"Yeah…I can see that" Lovino said.

A strained sound from behind Feliciano.

"Hrgh…mein _Gott_, this is heavy!" Ludwig groaned.

Feliciano turned around to see Ludwig carrying both his and Feliciano's luggage.

He then realized that he had dumped his _entire_ luggage onto Ludwig before bolting off towards Lovino.

"Ah! Oh, Luddy, I'm so sorry!" he said, before running over to Ludwig who was swaying side to side trying to steady himself and not fall. "Here, let me help" he said, taking some of the luggage off, easing the stress on Ludwig.

Lovino chuckled inwardly, seeing Ludwig in an uncomfortable situation.

"Serves him right…asshole" Lovino said darkly.

"What was that, Lovino?" Feliciano said curiously.

"O-Oh nothing, nevermind" he said.

After everything had been put down, Ludwig stretched his back to ease some of the pain.

"Whew, so how was your two weeks? Fun?" he asked.

Lovino's eye twitched and he clenched his hands behind his back.

"It was…_fun_…yeah, _real _fun" he said, trying not to clench his teeth.

What he _really_ _wanted_ to say was, 'No, you bastard, it _wasn't _fun.'

He chuckled. "That's good…Feliciano was so worried about you the whole trip. But I told him that you'd be ok. Und you are" he said smiling.

'Yeah, that's because you wanted him to think about _you _the whole time _isn't _it, you bastard?' Lovino wanted to say.

"Yep, I was perfectly fine. It was nice having the house to _myself_ for a while. I didn't even notice you were gone" Lovino said smiling falsely.

What he _wouldn't _tell them that he was absolutely _miserable_.

That would only upset Feliciano.

"Hey, Luddy? Do you think you could hail a taxi for us? I wanna tell Lovino about our trip" Feliciano said.

"Sure" Ludwig said simply and walked to the parking lot to direct one of the cabs towards their direction.

"Oh, Lovino, it was so fun! You should have seen it!" Feliciano began cheerfully.

'Ugh, here we go' Lovino thought.

"When we first got on, everything was _sooo_ big and so _pretty_! I've never seen anything _like_ it!" Feliciano shouted.

Lovino barely even listened to Feliciano as he was still slightly pissed off at them for living his dream and leaving him behind. But at least he wouldn't be alone anymore. He could at least take solace in _that._

But he would still nod his head and at least _act _like he was listening.

A few minutes of tuning his brother out later, Ludwig finally returned saying that the cab will be on its way soon.

And sure enough, the cab arrived on time right next to them.

This time, Lovino decided to help put the luggage in the car, if only to just get home faster.

A short while later, with everything packed away, they all piled in the car and set off for home.

As soon as they got in the car, Feliciano started babbling away nonstop and Lovino still just tuned him out and nodded his head.

He didn't really want to hear the things that Feliciano did with that damn German.

He couldn't care less.

When they finally got home, Feliciano was_ still_ talking.

'My God, why is he still talking? Did that much really happen?' Lovino thought as they walked into the house, dropping the luggage in the living room and walking into the kitchen.

"-And I was wondering what to get you, but all the shops I went to didn't have anything good. So I looked _really _hard and I got you _this_." Feliciano said holding out a medium-sized box in both hands towards Lovino.

"Hmm?" Lovino said as he came back down to Earth and looked at it.

"Take it." Feliciano said

"What is it?" Lovino asked.

"Open it!" Feliciano said cheerfully.

"Alright, alright" he said taking the box from Feliciano.

He eyed Feliciano for a while before opening the box.

Feliciano smiled back as Lovino opened the box.

Unwrapping the thin paper from around the item inside, Lovino pulled it out.

It was a snow globe with a city in Hawaii in it.

"A-A snow globe?" Lovino stuttered.

"Yeah!" Feliciano said. "Isn't it great?" he asked.

"Yeah" Lovino said. "It's…actually kind of cool" he said shaking it and letting the "snow" inside of it fall.

"That wasn't the only place we went to though. The cruise took us to all _sorts_ of tropical places" Feliciano said. "I saw it and just _knew _that I had to get it for you. Nothing else could compare to it" he said, fondly.

And it was _true_ judging from what Feliciano said. It _was_ beautiful and _very _well detailed.

Very intricate.

"Yeah…Thanks" Lovino said, shaking it again.

"See?" Feliciano said. "I _knew _you'd love it!" he gushed.

Even though it was a very nice gift, Lovino could only just stare at it with mild interest as they sat down for dinner.

And as expected, Feliciano talked all through dinner.

He talked almost all night too, which was only because he asked to sleep with Lovino that night and told Ludwig he could sleep in the guest room.

He finally fell asleep around 2 a.m.

Probably tired himself out from talking too much Lovino thought.

And as Lovino finally nodded off, he could only wonder one thing.

"Why does it seem that souvenirs are _always_ snow globes?" Lovino said, coming back to reality with a shake of his head.

He looked around to see that some time had passed.

"Wow, how long was I gone?" he said.

"Those idiots…" he said with annoyance. "Making me lose track of time" he said temper increasing.

* * *

There he was.

Walking through the forest.

Just walking, without anything on his mind.

With a look of complete and utter despair and sadness on his face.

Everything had been taken from him.

His job, his social life, _everything_.

He only wanted to go to his most favorite spot in the world.

_His _most _secret _spot that _no one _knew about.

Then suddenly he heard something.

"I wish _I _could go on a cruise" said an unfamiliar voice.

"Huh?" he said.

Making his way further to his spot, he could see someone sitting down, legs dangling over the edge of the cliff.

"What?" he said, utterly shocked. "How did _he _get here?" he asked. "_No one_ is supposed to know about this place!" he said, utterly surprised.

Not wanting to be seen, he ducked behind a tree and peered around its trunk and eyed the mysterious person from behind the tree.

"Where did _he _come from?" he asked.

He watched the person with attentive eyes and mild fascination wondering how another person knew about this out-of-the-way secluded place.

"Who _is _this guy?" he said to himself as continued to eye this unfamiliar person in his spot.

For about an hour, he stood there ducked behind the tree, watching the unknown person just sit there.

"What is he _doing_?" he said genuinely confused. "He's been sitting there for about an hour doing _nothing_" he said.

He was slightly startled when the person started speaking.

"Why does it seem like souvenirs are _always_ snow globes?" the person said.

"What is he talking about?" he asked, confused.

The person then started looking around and he ducked back behind the tree so that he wouldn't be seen.

"Wow, how long was I gone?" the person said.

"Gone? What does he mean gone? Was he daydreaming, maybe?" he asked.

"Those idiots…" the person said. "Making me lose track of time" the person continued.

"Idiots?" he asked. "Who is he talking about? Is he mad at them?" he asked again.

Slowly gathering up his courage, he took a few deep breaths before coming out from the back of the tree and approaching this mysterious person.

"U-Uh…h-hi" he said.

The person jumped as he heard him talk and approach him.

His eyes widened when he got a look at the person.

The person turned his head and eyed him with a look of horror on his face.

Almost as if he was surprised to see someone else here.

"W-What?" the person asked, jumping up to his feet. "H-How did you get here?" he asked.

"U-Uh…I just w-walked here? I-I thought it w-would be nice to sit here for a w-while" he explained.

"Aww, what the _hell_?" the person said in frustration as he sat back down.

"What? What's wrong?" he asked.

The person just turned and looked at him with a scowl on his face.

Like _he _had done something to upset him.

Like _his _presence there _killed_ the whole mood despite the beautiful scenery all around them.

"U-Um d-did I do something wrong?" he asked.

An annoyed grunt from the person was the only response he got.

Trying to ease the mood, he sat down next to, but not too close, to the person to try and talk to him.

"Hi" he began.

And the person just looked at him with a look of disgust on his face and anger in his eyes.

Like him being there _tainted _the whole sanctity of this wondrous place.

He began again, "Hi, who are you? What's your name?" he asked, trying to smile and find out who this new person is.

But the person just looked back at him, scoffed and got up and walked away, going back through the woods.

"Hmm?" he said. "What's _his_ problem?" he asked.

* * *

Lovino was angrier than ever now.

First, it was his brother being in a relationship with that damn German, and now it was whoever that was – that _jackass_ who had the_ audacity_ to show up in _his _spot?

Lovino was _well _beyond pissed off.

Everything had been taken away from him by his gifted brother and finally, the _one _thing that he had_ thought_ he had all to _himself_ had been taken away from him _too_.

"Rrgh! It's not _fair_!" Lovino grumbled as he walked back to his house. "Dammit, it's just not _fair_! _Everything _gets taken away from me! _Every_._ Single_._ Thing_!" he seethed.

When he finally got to his house, Lovino's anger had boiled past the point of no return.

He opened the door with a loud slam.

Good thing Feliciano and Ludwig weren't there at the time.

Otherwise, all _Hell _would have broken loose.

"Stupid Feliciano and that _stupid _German!" Lovino raged.

"They just _had _to take everything away from me!" he yelled. "And that _stupid _guy too!" he added, angrily.

"That's it" he said voice low and eyes darkening. "I'm gonna _break _them up! _One _way or another!" he hissed.

He tried to think of a good way to break Feliciano and Ludwig up once and for all, but he couldn't think of anything.

After a while of planning later, a light bulb went on in his head and he came up with a nasty plot to rend Feliciano's and Ludwig's relationship asunder.

Snatching up a piece of paper, he scribbled a fake number on it and wrote 'call me! ; )' on it.

If _that _didn't break Feliciano and that damn German up,_ nothing _will.

"Heh, heh, heh" he chuckled darkly. "There's nothing like sowing seeds of distrust and suspicion" he said, mischievously.

Taking up the small piece of paper, he walked into their room and put the paper in Feliciano's dresser.

"And now I play the waiting game" Lovino said with an amused smirk on his face.

As if on cue, Feliciano and Ludwig walked into the house smiling at each other.

Probably coming back from a date, Lovino thought bitterly.

"Aww, Luddy, are you sure you can't stay? Pleeease? For _me_?" Feliciano begged, clinging to Ludwig's arm trying to get him to stay.

"Aww, I'm sorry Feliciano, but I _have _to go" he said trying to pull his arm out of Feliciano's vice-like grip. "Und besides, mein boss will _kill _me if I take another day off without telling him. I've got to _work_ you know!" he said, finally getting his arm free.

"Aww, but Luddy!" Feliciano whined. "_Please_?" he said, trying to get Ludwig to stay the night.

Ludwig sighed tiredly. "F-Fine…I-I'll stay. You _happy_?" he grumbled.

"Yay!" Feliciano cheered. "Luddy's staying the night! Luddy's staying the night!" Feliciano sang out.

"Ugh, mein boss is going _kill _me!" he said, silently to himself.

Lovino, sitting on the couch observing the whole spectacle, laughed silently to himself again, liking the uncomfortable situation that that damn German was being put in once again.

That is, he laughed until he realized that if the German were to _stay_ tonight, then that would mean that they would be _sleeping_ together in the _same _bed. And possibly doing who _knows _what. And if they _did _do that sort of thing, Lovino wanted to be _nowhere _near it when it happened. He absolutely did _not _want to hear that German possibly _violating _his brother and hearing Feliciano's moans reverberating throughout the _whole_ entire house the better part of the night and hearing something bumping up against the wall and something creaking.

Ugh.

Just the thought of it made him _sick_.

No.

It was too risky to let the German _stay _here.

The German _had _to go.

Then, Lovino did something that he thought he would _never_ do.

He sided with that bastard.

"Hey, Feliciano" he said looking at them from the couch to see his brother bouncing up and down happily and Ludwig's face in his hand sighing exasperatedly.

"Come on, Feliciano, he said he had to go to work. His boss'll _kill _him if he doesn't come in tomorrow" Lovino said, enjoying the idea of Ludwig's boss actually_ killing_ him. He chuckled, "Heh, heh, heh, come on, let the man _work_. He can't make any money if you won't even _let _him. Get out from _under_ him all the damn time. Give him some _space_. After all, how can he take out on those _fancy_ dates if he doesn't have any money? Let him go to work, huh?" Lovino said, smiling if only because it'll get that German out of the house.

Ludwig looked at him incredulously.

Lovino had never openly _helped_ him like that.

Ludwig always had a feeling that Lovino hated him, but now he was relieved.

'Maybe he's finally warming up to me' Ludwig thought.

But Feliciano just looked between the two of them sadly.

"B-But-" Feliciano started.

"Come on, Feliciano, it won't be _that _bad" Lovino started. "You can even sleep with me tonight so you won't be lonely, ok?" he offered.

Feliciano moaned sadly as he pouted slightly.

"No money, no dates" Lovino reminded.

Feliciano gasped.

"Oh, no!" he said. "B-But I _like _it when Luddy takes me out on dates!" he cried.

"Then let him _work _so he can _take _you on those dates" Lovino said.

"Ohhh…fine" Feliciano said looking down at the floor sadly.

Ludwig, coming back from staring at Lovino like he was some kind of savior, looked back to Feliciano and placed his hands on his shoulders softly.

"Aww, come on, Feliciano, you _know _I don't want to go but…I _have _to. Und besides" he said chuckling, "Lovino's right, no money, no dates, right?" he said. "If I could I _would _stay here, gladly, but I just _can't _tonight, ok?" Ludwig reassured.

"Ok…" Feliciano replied softly.

"Come on" Ludwig said, shaking Feliciano softly. "Don't be sad. I'll see you tomorrow, ok?" he said.

"Ok…" was the same soft response.

Ludwig then lifted Feliciano's face with a curled finger under his chin, so that he looked him in the eyes, and planted a soft kiss on his lips.

"I love you" Ludwig said softly.

"I-I love you too, Luddy" Feliciano said, smiling softly.

Ludwig gave Feliciano a strong hug and kissed him on the forehead softly. "Good night" he said, before letting go.

"Good night" Feliciano said back.

Lovino, watching the displays of affection, gagged inwardly. Seeing his brother all lovey-dovey with that damn German was enough to make him want to vomit.

'Whatever' he thought.

A small price to pay to get that _bastard_ out of the house, Lovino concluded.

At least now, he wasn't actually _staying_ the night.

And with that, Feliciano turned around and went to sit down on the couch next to Lovino.

Ludwig watched him sit down and then turned around to walk towards the door.

Before he left, he looked at Lovino and mouthed the words 'Thank you' to which Lovino waved his hand in the air and mouthed 'You're welcome' back.

"Good night" he said to Lovino.

"Good night" Lovino said, smiling back.

Smiling, Ludwig opened the door and walked out, taking his luggage with him, and closed it behind him.

'Phew, crisis avoided' Lovino thought.

A few minutes later, they both heard Ludwig start up his car and drive off.

Feliciano gave a dejected sigh.

Lovino put his arm around his brother and gave him a squeeze.

"Aww, come on, Feliciano, it's gonna be ok" he reassured.

Feliciano sighed again. "If you say so" he said sadly.

"Yes, I do say so. You'll be fine. You won't _even_ know he's gone" Lovino said, repeating those same words that had hurt _him _two weeks ago. "Come on, let's go to bed, huh?" he said, getting up and reaching a hand down towards Feliciano.

"Ok" Feliciano replied, reaching up and taking his hand.

Lovino pulled him up and put an arm around Feliciano's shoulders and walked him to their bedroom.

Pulling their clothes off and putting it on the chairs, (Lovino's being more neatly arranged than Feliciano's) they both went to the bathroom to brush their teeth.

"Heh" Lovino chuckled. "Almost like when we were kids, huh?" he said, after spitting and rinsing trying to lift his brother's spirits.

"Yeah…I guess" Feliciano said, after spitting and rinsing as well.

Feliciano then walked out of the bathroom, Lovino following soon after.

Lovino flipped the bathroom light switch off before crawling into bed with Feliciano.

Turning over to turn the bed-side lamp off, Lovino chuckled at the day's earlier events, specifically his, before shutting it off.

"Don't worry, it'll be ok" Lovino reassured again.

"Yeah, ok" Feliciano said, turning over on his side.

It didn't take long for Feliciano to finally fall asleep and when he did, Lovino was wide awake.

He was too busy thinking of his plan to break up Feliciano and that damn German.

He chuckled darkly. "Yep" he said. "All I have to do is wait."

He fell asleep thinking about the confrontation that was sure to happen.

He was _sure _it would happen.

'Sooner or later' he thought fondly.

And with that last thought, he finally shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

After the day's events, he had already forgotten about that mysterious person who has absolutely _ruined _the secrecy of his oh-so-secret spot, just past the woods.

He was of little importance compared to what would soon happen in the future.

If this little plan of his didn't work.

_Oh_, if it didn't work.

And Feliciano and that damn German were _still _together.

Oh, he would be pissed

_Well _beyond pissed.

Actually, _pissed_ would be an understatement.

He would be _furious._

But thank God, _that _won't happen.

He was too sure of himself.

Yes, _very _sure.

It would _all _work out in the end.

* * *

Well? What did you all think? Very suspenseful right? And I know what some of you are probably thinking: you were expecting Antonio to have a bigger part right? Well, don't worry he'll have a bigger part in the next chapter, I promise! ; ).

P.S. And just for clarification purposes, the part where I use he and that person, "he" represents Antonio and "that person" represents Lovino. (Just in case some people were a little confused at that part). Since it was more or less Antonio's POV, I decided to write it like that. Although, the reason why I referred to Antonio as "he" was because I wanted his name to be fully known when he introduces himself to Lovino, because he obviously knows what his own name is. And the part where I mention the T.V. show "Two and a Half Men", I absolutely have _no_ idea where it even _came_ from. Although, I suppose it had to do with the time since there is two and a half hours between 1 o'clock and three-thirty when Lovino left to go to the docks. So, I guess when I thought two and a half hours, I thought of "Two and a Half Men", weird right? And plus, I kind of wanted to give that unnamed sitcom Lovino watched the day Feliciano and Ludwig left a name, so I guess I did! Hopefully, this chapter won't get taken down because I mentioned a T.V. show…but it shouldn't. I mean it _is _a fictional show. But just in case I violate some copyright infringement law, I'll say this: **Disclaimer: "Two and a Half Men" is owned by Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn. I do **_**not **_**own **_**anything**_** from this T.V. show. It was **_**just**_** for fan purposes. Nothing more. **I don't know if that's how I'm supposed to say it or even if I _can _reference T.V. shows here (like I said, I'm new but I'll get the hang of it soon). Oh, God, I'm starting to ramble. Well, you know how it goes, please read and review. And look forward to the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N**: **Hi, everyone, well, looks like the next chapter is here! Yay! ^_^. Sorry about the short Antonio scene. I know I told you all to look forward to Antonio in the first chapter and I introduce him in such a short way in the second. Lol, yeah sorry, but that was how I originally planned for it to happen since Lovino wanted nothing to do with him. So, to make up for that, SUPER LONG chapter! But don't worry, he has a _MUCH_ bigger part in this chapter. Of that, you can be sure. Well, here you go the third chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

_Beep, beep, beep_.

_Beep, beep, beep_.

Ugh.

Lovino woke up with a grumble.

"Ohhh…it's too _early _for all this noise." Lovino mumbled, sleepily.

'Eh, Feliciano will turn it off, like always, anyways.' Lovino thought.

_Beep, beep, beep_.

_Beep, beep, beep_.

"Ugh…Feliciano, can you _please _turn off the alarm? I'm trying to sleep here." Lovino muttered.

_Beep, beep, beep_.

_Beep, beep, beep_.

Lovino then groaned in agitation.

"Ugh, dammit, Feliciano! Turn off the goddamn alarm already!" Lovino yelled.

_Beep, beep, beep_.

_Beep, beep, beep_.

"Rrgh, _goddammit_!" Lovino said, sitting up, eyes still closed. "I _said _turn off the _goddamn_ alarm!" Lovino yelled again.

When Lovino didn't hear a reply, he groaned in frustration because his brother wasn't listening to him, so he decided to just turn it off himself.

Opening his eyes, Lovino reached over to turn the annoying alarm off and he looked over and saw that Feliciano wasn't in the bed.

"Huh?" Lovino said. "Where's Feliciano?" he asked.

He looked all around the room, but Feliciano was nowhere in sight

"Uh…Feliciano?" Lovino called. "Where are you? Are you in the bathroom?"

No answer.

"Huh? That's weird. What the _hell?_ Feliciano _never_ gets up _this _early. What, did Hell freeze over already?" Lovino asked.

Lovino wondered just how in the _hell_ Feliciano managed to wake up _this _early.

Then, Lovino paused as his mind thought about the reason as to _why _his brother was up so early.

"Ugh…don't tell me…" Lovino muttered, darkly.

That damn German.

"Oh well, I'm up anyway…" Lovino said.

Getting up out of bed with a heavy sigh, Lovino walked to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

Once he got done in the bathroom, a pair of pants and a shirt later, he was walking down the stairs.

A giggle.

Lovino arched an eyebrow in confusion.

"Feliciano?" he called.

Another giggle and this time, it was accompanied with a deep chuckle.

And at that moment, Lovino knew _exactly _who that chuckle came from.

"Knew it." Lovino muttered, darkly, as he walked to where the noises were coming from.

It turns out that the noises were coming from the kitchen and Lovino walked towards the kitchen, unsure of what he would find.

"Hey, what are you guys doing?" Lovino asked, walking to the threshold of the kitchen, not caring what his brother and that damn German were possibly doing, for it was too early to contemplate such matters.

When Lovino walked into the kitchen and looked up, he froze in absolute shock.

He saw Feliciano in that damn German's arms and that bastard attacking his neck.

Feliciano giggled and then gasped. "_Ah_! Luddy, th-that tickles! S-Stop it!"

Lovino's jaw dropped at the sight.

The bastard was all but _devouring_ his brother's collarbone.

That damn German gave another deep chuckle. "You like that?" he asked, seductively.

Feliciano could only giggle as a response.

Lovino could stand it no longer, and resisting his _great_ urge to just jump on the German bastard and attack him, he just cleared his throat loudly in frustration.

Feliciano and Ludwig, hearing the sudden noise, both jumped and looked towards the direction that it came from and saw Lovino standing there in the threshold, narrowing his eyes at the both of them.

Feliciano gasped in shock and blushed and Ludwig turned his head away as his cheeks turned a bright red.

Feliciano was the one to speak first to break the awkward silence.

"U-Uh, h-hi, Lovino! S-Sorry you had to see that…oh, I'm so embarrassed!" Feliciano said.

"Yeah, you _should_ be…" Lovino said, hinting to the reason as to why he should be embarrassed was because of that damn German that he was dating.

"J-ja, s-sorry." Ludwig said, turning his head back towards Lovino, cheeks still red.

Lovino only narrowed his eyes more, but threateningly at Ludwig.

"Well…anyways." Lovino started, slowly. "Feliciano, I was looking for you. Why are you up so early?"

"Early?" Feliciano asked. "What do you mean early?"

"What do you mean 'what do I mean early'?" Lovino said, getting irritated.

"B-But, i-it's almost eleven." Feliciano said.

"What?" Lovino said. "Almost eleven?" he said in pure shock.

"Y-Yeah, w-why?" Feliciano stuttered.

"Uh, n-nothing, nevermind." Lovino said. "So, uh, what were you two doing before uh..._this_?" he said, circling a finger towards their direction. "Or was this _all _you were doing in here?" he asked, accusingly.

Ludwig piped up then.

"Oh, we were making breakfast!" he said.

"But it's 11'o clock…" Lovino said.

"Um, _ja_, I said we _were_ making breakfast. Until we got a little distracted." Ludwig chuckled sheepishly, putting a hand behind his head.

'A _little_? You were practically _sucking_ the skin off of his _fucking_ neck!' Lovino thought, angrily.

"A _little_- I mean, um, y-yeah…right." Lovino said, almost letting out his true thoughts. He then chuckled. "Heh, heh, a _little_ is a bit of an understatement, don't you think?" Lovino said, trying to lighten the mood.

Ludwig laughed. "J-ja, I guess you're right!"

Lovino laughed too, falsely, as he said under his breath, "asshole."

"Well, shall we make _lunch_ then?" Ludwig asked.

And it was then that Lovino realized exactly how _hungry_ he actually was.

"Sure, that'll be great." he said.

"Ooh! _Ooh!_ I'll make _pasta_!" Feliciano chirped up then.

"Yeah, sounds great!" Lovino said, happily.

"Ja, that's a good idea!" Ludwig agreed.

Feliciano giggled then. "And I'll let _you _put the potatoes in Luddy! Would you like that?" he asked.

"You bet I would!" Ludwig said, wrapping an arm around Feliciano.

Lovino's jaw dropped again.

"_Wait_, what?" Lovino said, shocked.

"Yeah, we're putting potatoes in the pasta!" Feliciano said, cheerily.

"Wha-." was all Lovino could manage to sputter out.

"Yeah, Luddy told me to try it since it was too much trouble to cook two separate dishes all the time." Feliciano said.

Lovino's eye twitched in complete disbelief.

'P-Potatoes…in pasta?' Lovino thought.

Potatoes in pasta.

No.

No.

Oh, _hell _no.

Oh, _hell _to the _no._

Finally finding his voice, Lovino spoke up.

And he was _not _happy.

Not one bit.

"W-What the _hell?_ Y-You're p-putting _potatoes _in _pasta_?" he said in horror, as if just _mixing _the two foods would result in utter world destruction.

"U-Um, y-yeah, what's wrong with that?" Feliciano asked.

"Uh, what's wrong? What's _wrong_?" Lovino almost shrieked. "The _whole_ thing's wrong! You don't put _potatoes_ in pasta!" he said, saying the word 'potatoes' with complete and utter disgust.

An awkward shift in weight.

Then Lovino, looking towards the sudden movement, saw Ludwig.

He could see that Ludwig looked a little bit hurt.

Oh well.

He didn't care about his feelings _one _bit.

"Oh, come on, Lovino, please don't be like that." Feliciano said, putting a hand on Ludwig's shoulder. "You're hurting Luddy's feelings."

"I don't _care_! I don't want _potatoes_ in my favorite food!" Lovino said, angrily.

"Aww, come on, Lovino! It's not that bad, either! I used to think the same way too, that I didn't want potatoes in my pasta, either because it was weird for me. But Luddy wanted me to try it so I did. And it's good! I promise!" Feliciano said.

"No." Lovino said, simply.

"Aww, pleeese?" Feliciano begged.

"_No._" Lovino said, more aggressively.

"But I'm telling you, it's _good_!" Feliciano pleaded.

"_Dammit_, I said _no_!" Lovino yelled.

Feliciano jumped at the sudden yell and bowed his head, sadly.

"_Please_?" Feliciano tried again. "For _me_? It would make me really happy if you tried it. Just this once and you'll _never _have to eat it again, ok?"

Lovino looked at his brother then, and saw that he looked on the verge of tears.

Lovino gave a frustrated sigh.

"Just this once?" he asked, lowly.

"Just this once." Feliciano repeated.

A silence as Lovino paused thoughtfully.

"Ugh, dammit, _fine, ok_?" he conceded. "You _happy_ now?"

And then Feliciano's good mood returned with full force.

"Yay!" Feliciano yelled, happily. He then walked forward and took up Lovino's hands within his own. "I promise, Lovino, you won't regret it! It'll be good, I _promise_!"

Lovino then pulled his hands out of Feliciano's and waved him away, in annoyance.

"Fine, fine." Lovino said. "Just hurry it up, I'm _starving_ over here."

"Ok!" Feliciano said. "Don't worry, we're halfway done. We'll just turn what we made into lunch!"

Lovino looked over at Ludwig and saw that his mood had lightened up a bit.

'Just what you wanted _isn't _it, you bastard?' Lovino thought, bitterly.

Sighing, Lovino walked over to the kitchen table and sat down resting his chin in his hand, watching Feliciano and that damn German milling this way and that around the kitchen.

'Stupid, goddamn German bastard.' Lovino thought. 'How _dare _he convince my brother to put potatoes in his pasta? I guess Germans really _do_ like taking over everything.'

As Feliciano and Ludwig walked around the kitchen, Lovino could see that Ludwig was looking at him occasionally and sometimes, out of the corner of his eye and giving him an expression that looked like it was pleading, 'Please try it, it's good. You'll like it.'

'What the _hell_ are _you_ staring at, you bastard?' Lovino thought, staring right back at Ludwig.

About twenty or so minutes later, Feliciano and Ludwig were putting the finishing touches on the questionable lunch dish.

With the pasta done and waiting, Feliciano stood by and smiled as he watched Ludwig pour the boiled potatoes into the pot.

Lovino sighed, sadly.

'The pasta is tainted now.' he thought.

"Lovino, can you get the plates out?" Feliciano asked.

"Yeah, yeah, sure." Lovino said.

Getting up and getting three plates from the cabinet and forks from the drawer, Lovino walked back to the table and set the plates down.

After the table was set, Feliciano brought the pot over to the table and set it down. He reached out for Lovino to give him his plate so that he could fill his first. Lovino gave him his plate and could only watch with silent horror as his brother poured the food onto his plate.

When Feliciano gave Lovino his plate back, Lovino could only stare down at it with a sick look on his face.

Feliciano then poured the food on his and Ludwig's plates, put the pot back on the stove, and sat down across the table from Lovino, next to Ludwig.

Lovino watched as they both started eating with a disgusted look upon his face and then stared down at his own food.

Pasta noodles, mixed perfectly with tomato sauce and various spices with potato chunks littered all over.

It certainly _looked _appetizing, and any other person would have started eating it without a second thought.

But not to Lovino.

Seeing potatoes mixed in with his most favorite food in the world was absolutely _disgusting_.

He looked up to see Feliciano and Ludwig staring at him, expectantly.

"What?" Lovino asked.

"Well, don't just look at it, eat it." Feliciano said.

Lovino groaned in frustration. "Do I _have_ to?" he asked.

"Yes, you have to." Feliciano said. "You promised, remember?"

"Ugh, alright, alright fine." Lovino said.

Feliciano smiled as he and Ludwig went back to eating.

Reluctantly, Lovino picked up his fork and brought it down on the plate.

_Damn_.

When he brought his fork back up, there it was, a particularly large potato compared to the rest that littered his plate.

He had _tried_ to avoid the potatoes but it was no use. There were just so _many _of them.

'What, did he _personally_ pick these potatoes out for me?' Lovino thought, eyeing the food on his fork.

Scrunching his face, Lovino brought the food ever closer to his mouth.

'Come on, Lovino, the sooner you eat this _slop_, the _sooner _you can go out and get some _real_ food.' Lovino thought.

Then, forcing his mouth open, Lovino forced himself to shove the food into his mouth and chew.

After Lovino was done chewing, he swallowed the food, still screwing his eyes shut.

Then, after he was done with the first bite, he opened his eyes and they widened as he looked down at the plate in complete and utter disbelief.

'Uh-oh.' Lovino thought.

He then dug his fork into the food again and took another bite.

And then another.

And then another.

And then three more.

'Oh, my God…this is…' he thought.

Lovino kept on eating the food and before he knew it, he was halfway done.

He was about to take another bite when he looked up and saw that Feliciano and Ludwig were staring at him.

A horrible flush of red to his cheeks as he looked down at his plate and back towards them and saw that they hadn't even finish _half_ yet.

"It's _good_, isn't it?" Feliciano asked, confidently.

"Sh-Shut up!" Lovino stuttered. "I-It's only because I'm so hungry!" Lovino said, trying to jusfity him devouring the potato pasta.

"Right, _sure_ it is." Feliciano said, smugly.

'_Fuck_!_'_ Lovino thought.

Lovino then looked over at Ludwig, who was smiling, warmly and flattered.

"Sh-Shut up!" Lovino yelled, cheeks turning even redder.

"Just admit it, Lovino, you _know _you like it." Feliciano said.

"I-it's alright." Lovino muttered.

Feliciano sighed in relief, saying, "That's good. Well, I'm glad you like it." before he went back to eating.

Lovino couldn't do anything but sit there; face blushing a deep shade of red.

'Stupid Feliciano' he thought.

He then looked up at them to see, to his horror, that they were _feeding _each other.

"Open up, Luddy! Say 'ah'!" Feliciano giggled.

Lovino could _swear_ that he felt himself dry heave when that damn German opened up his mouth with a smile.

'Oh, God, now they're _feeding _each other? What's next?' Lovino thought.

Lovino then looked back down at his food and started eating again, albeit a lot more slowly than he originally had.

And while he was eating, Lovino could only wonder one thing as it suddenly came back to his thoughts.

'Wait. Why are they still together? Did my plan not work? Again? Or did they not see it yet? God, it looks like they are even _more_ in love! _Goddammit…_' Lovino thought.

Both Feliciano and Ludwig finished their food first as Lovino made sure to eat slowly so that Feliciano wouldn't make fun of him for finishing first.

Feliciano put both of their plates in the sink and then grabbed Ludwig by his arm and pulling him out of the kitchen before stopping to look at Lovino, still sitting down at the table.

"Bye, Lovino!" he said. "We're leaving now!"

"Huh?" Lovino said. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"The beach!" Feliciano said, happily. "It's such a nice day today, and I asked Luddy if we can go. I can't wait! I haven't been to the beach in _so _long!"

Lovino didn't even bother asking if he can go because he knew that they were going to the beach as a _date_.

And he absolutely did _not_ want to be a third wheel while his brother and that damn German flirted right in _front _of him and made out.

He was _already _scarred from seeing the bastard nibbling and sucking on his brother's neck earlier and it was a _wonder_ how he didn't get a _hickey_ from the whole ordeal.

"Well, have fun." Lovino said, calmly.

"Huh? Feliciano said, confused. "You don't wanna come? You _can _if you _want _to. It's not like you're gonna be a third wheel or something. It'll just be the three of us hanging out and having a good time." he offered.

"Nope, that's ok, I'm fine" Lovino said.

"Are you sure?" Feliciano asked.

"Yeah." Lovino said, simply.

"Well…ok, then. Are you sure you'll be ok by yourself?" Feliciano asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. I survived two weeks without you by myself, didn't I?" Lovino said.

"W-Well, y-yeah but you _hated_ when we left you… I don't want to leave you by yourself again." Feliciano said, sincerely.

"No, don't worry about me, I'll be fine! It's not like you're leaving for a long time. Go, go on, have fun. I don't really want to go to the beach anyway. The sands too hot and it burns my feet." Lovino said.

"U-Um w-well ok, then. If you're really sure about this." Feliciano said, still trying to coax Lovino to come with them.

"Yes, I'm sure. Go have fun. If I said I'll be fine, I'll be fine." Lovino said.

"U-Um ok, then. Bye." Feliciano said.

"See ya, later." Lovino said.

"Oh, and Lovino?" Feliciano mentioned, as an afterthought.

"What?" Lovino asked.

And attempting to lighten the mood, Feliciano said, "Try not to_ inhale_ the food." he said, pointing to the remaining food on Lovino's plate. "Take _small _bites and _pace _yourself." Feliciano said, before giggling.

Lovino's face blushed a deep red again. "W-Will you sh-shut up about that?" Lovino said, quickly, standing up out of his chair.

Feliciano giggled. "Alright, alright, I'm just kidding, ok?" he said, smiling, before walking out of the kitchen.

Before they left, Feliciano sent Lovino a worried glance before he and Ludwig headed out the door with their things that Lovino unknowingly passed by, still groggy from his sleep.

Lovino heard the door closely gently.

"Goddammit, I can't believe it didn't work. Well, looks like I'll have to come up with another plan then." Lovino said.

Finishing his potato pasta, he took the plate and put it in the sink.

"Stupid bastard." Lovino said, looking down into the dish water. "I can't believe I actually _liked_ that stuff!" he said, putting a hand over his face in embarrassment. "And they both _saw_ me too! _God_, how _embarrassing_!"

Lovino then decided to leave the house as well.

He needed to think about how he could break up Feliciano and that damn German.

And there was only _one _place he could go to do _that_.

Picking up the other set of house keys, Lovino walked out of the front door, locking it behind him.

After making sure it was locked, Lovino then set off down the street, going towards the corner that the edge of the woods was on.

Getting closer to the edge of the woods, Lovino looked around to make sure that no one was looking, lest they follow him to his secret spot through the forest.

When he saw that he wasn't being watched, Lovino headed into the forest.

Ten minutes later, he made it to the clearing overlooking the ocean.

Fresh air.

Wind blowing through the trees.

Blue sky overhead.

The _perfect_ place for one to come and think in peace and quiet.

Walking over to the edge of the cliff, as he always did, he sat down, letting his legs hang off the side.

Laying back, Lovino tried to think about what to come up with in order to tear his brother and that damn German apart.

"No, that won't work." Lovino said, absentmindedly while staring at the clouds.

The clouds were moving slowly across the sky.

So peaceful.

"No, that'll never work. Tried that, didn't work. Nope, not that either. Never even had a chance. _Dammit_! _Nothing _I come up with ever _works_!" Lovino cursed to himself.

An hour or two passed and Lovino _still _couldn't think of anything.

He was at a complete _loss_ as to what to do or come up with.

That fake number idea was the best idea he ever had.

And he wasn't even sure that _that _would even work.

Then, with a big yawn, Lovino decided to give up and think about what to do later, as he was getting very sleepy.

The slow moving clouds, the trees rustling, and the tide below was the perfect natural lullaby to put _anyone_ to sleep.

Lovino felt his eyes getting heavier and heavier and just before he closed his eyes to take a nap, he heard a rustling in the forest somewhere.

Not the rustling of the trees from the wind, but something else.

Like something was _moving_ through the woods, through the bushes.

Lovino startled upright and looked all around his surroundings to see if anyone or any_thing_ was coming.

When he didn't see anything, he relaxed, but didn't lie back down because he was still a little bit wary.

Lovino then wondered, briefly, if it was that guy that had run into him yesterday.

But then he quickly pushed the thought away with a shake of his head.

"No. Couldn't be." Lovino said. "My mind must have been playing tricks on me. I was really angry then. I was just _seeing_ things _and hearing_ things. Yeah, that must be true." Lovino concluded. "I mean there's no _way _that _anybody_ could _possibly_ know about _this_ place! It's so secret and secluded that no one would even _think _to look here for anything!" Lovino said, confidently.

The rustling of the bushes stopped and Lovino sighed in relief, as he didn't see anything come out from the forest.

Satisfied with his seclusion, Lovino turned his attention to the horizon, unable to go to sleep after that whole bush ordeal.

"Beautiful day today." Lovino said, wistfully.

And all was well before a voice spoke up out of nowhere.

"Oh! So you're here again!" said a cheerful voice.

Lovino, startled from the sudden voice, jumped, and looked towards the direction that the voice came from and to his surprise, he saw that it was that guy – that _same _guy that had _ruined _his time there yesterday.

Lovino watched in absolute terror as the strange person made his way ever closer.

'Oh, my _God_' Lovino thought. 'My mind _wasn't _playing tricks on me! He's _real_! He's _fuckin' real_!'

"Hi!" said the strange person, cheerfully.

Lovino could only stare at him dumbly, mouth agape.

"Wh-Wha-?" was all his mouth could form of the words that were trying to escape his mouth.

"What? Something wrong?" he asked.

"Y-Y-You're _real_?" Lovino spluttered out.

The person laughed then and said, "Of course I'm real! How _else_ could you have seen me yesterday?"

Lovino was about to say something, but he lost his voice and fell silent, turning back towards the horizon.

"Can I sit down?" the person asked.

When Lovino found his voice again, all he could manage was just an agitated, "Hmm."

"I'll take _that _as a yes." the person said, and plopped himself down next to Lovino, with a smile, imitating Lovino's sitting position with his legs hanging over the side of the cliff.

Lovino growled in frustration as the strange person eyed him with a "dumb-guy" smile plastered on his face.

How dare he?

How _dare _he?

Coming here and _intruding_ on his alone relaxation time.

Unforgivable.

Lovino looked at him from the corner of his eye and saw that his smile grew bigger, enough to show his teeth.

He tried not to pay attention to him and turned his gaze away from him and looked back towards the horizon, brow lowering.

'Don't look at him, Lovino. Don't _even _pay attention to him!' Lovino thought.

That is, he _tried_ not to pay attention to the guy, but every time he looked at him from out the corner of his eye, he saw that he was just wouldn't stop _staring _at him.

Just _staring _at him with that _stupid _grin on his face.

Finally, Lovino could take it no longer and finally, he snapped.

"Rrgh…_What_?" Lovino yelled, irritably.

"What's your name?" the person asked, smile never once faltering.

Lovino only blinked at him and turned away.

"Why should I tell _you_?" Lovino asked.

"Because I wanna know!" the person said. "Come on, what's your name!" he pressed on.

"Normally, when one introduces themselves, they are obliged to say their name first. It's only common courtesy." Lovino said, lowly.

"_Oh_, yeah, sorry, where are my manners?" the person asked.

Lovino could only scoff, derisively, at the person's stupid mistake.

"Ok, let's start over! Hi, my name is Antonio!" the person said, cheerfully.

Lovino only gave an uninterested, "Hmm." as he turned away from the person who now introduced himself as 'Antonio'.

An awkward silence as Lovino stared ahead, ignoring this intruder.

"Hey, you're kinda cute." Antonio said, scooting a little closer to Lovino.

Lovino, startled at this confession, quickly turned to him, and seeing that he was scooting closer, he felt his face heat up as he started blushing and turned forward again, face red and brow lowering.

"_Really _cute, actually." Antonio said, scooting even closer and _still _smiling.

This only succeeded in making Lovino blush even _more _as he tried to focus on _anything other_ than the approaching Antonio.

"So cute." Antonio said, pressing on, and daring to slide ever closer to Lovino.

Antonio, now a mere _two_ feet away from Lovino asked curiously, "What's your name?"

Lovino couldn't even look at Antonio because he was too embarrassed at how red his cheeks were and he could only stutter out a weak, "L-Lovino."

"What's that? I can't hear you. You're mumbling." Antonio said. "What's your name?"

"L-Lovino!" he stuttered out, more loudly this time, if only just to get Antonio to stop calling him cute.

A thoughtful pause from Antonio.

Then he spoke up again.

"Hmm. Lovino, huh?" he said. Then Antonio laughed and said, "A cute name for a _cute _guy!" as he slid into mere _inches _next to Lovino and leaned towards his direction.

Lovino blushed…well…he got redder.

And then Lovino, not being able to take the embarrassment and Antonio's advances any longer, finally found his voice and spoke up.

"H-Hey, if you're t-tryin' to come onto me, y-you're gonna have to take me out to dinner or something, f-first." Lovino said, narrowing his eyes at Antonio.

Antonio laughed loudly, saying, "You're funny, Lovino!"

Lovino only sighed in disgust.

"Ok, let's do it!" Antonio said, cheerfully.

"I was being _sarcastic_, you idiot." Lovino said, darkly.

"Aww, that's not nice, Lovino! You shouldn't say such things to people you first met." Antonio chided, lightly.

"What?" Lovino said, in disbelief. "I don't _care_!" he said. "I'll say whatever the _fuck_ I _want _to say!"

Lovino turned away then, in anger.

Antonio stared at him for a short while, before he spoke up again.

"Well, that's what I came here, looking for you for." Antonio said.

"W-What?" Lovino said, looking back at Antonio.

Antonio cleared his throat.

"I'd like to take you out on a date." he admitted.

"W-What?" Lovino said, in disbelief. "A date?"

"Yeah!" Antonio said.

"N-No." Lovino said.

"What? Aww, come on, pleeease?" Antonio begged.

"_No_." Lovino said, more forcefully.

"But why? Come on, say yes!" Antonio pleaded.

"B-Because I said so!" Lovino said, curtly.

"Aww, but I _like _you, Lovino!" Antonio said. "Why don't you wanna let me take you out?"

"B-Because I don't like you like that!" Lovino yelled, blushing slightly.

"Then why are you blushing?" Antonio asked.

"Sh-Shut up! I-I'm _not_ blushing!" Lovino cried.

"Yes, you _are_!" Antonio said, smiling.

"W-Will you just leave me alone?" Lovino asked, trying not to blush even more.

"Not until you say yes!" Antonio said. "Please? Please? Please? _Please_?"

'Wow, _really_? _That's _his strategy? Just saying please over and over again?' Lovino thought. "Stop that." Lovino said.

But Antonio was annoyingly unrelenting.

"Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? _Please_?" Antonio begged.

"_Dammit_, I said _stop _that!" Lovino yelled.

"Aww, come on! It's just a date! It's not like it's the end of the world!" Antonio said, shaking Lovino lightly.

"_Fuck _off!" Lovino said, trying to free himself from Antonio's grip.

"Come on! I'm asking you nicely! It's only a date!" Antonio then took a great deep breath and Lovino's eyes widened in horror because he knew _exactly_ what Antonio was about to do. "PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE?"

'Oh, God, he is _not_ doing this! Is he _really_ doing this?' Lovino thought, in disbelief.

Seeing that Antonio didn't intend on stopping anytime soon, Lovino reluctantly admitted defeat.

"Alright, alright, _dammit_! I'll go on a date with you! Just shut _up_ already!" Lovino screamed.

And just like that, Antonio stopped his incessant begging and smiled greatly.

Lovino then sighed in relief.

Antonio then let out a great laugh. "That's the oldest trick in the book! Works _every_ time!" Antonio said, proudly.

Lovino narrowed his eyes angrily at Antonio.

"You bastard." Lovino said, bitterly.

"Oh, come on now, don't be like that! It'll be fun. I promise! I got it _all _planned out and everything." Antonio said, happily.

Lovino was taken aback by Antonio's last statement.

'He…planned this?' Lovino thought. 'Did he do this all for me? Is _that _why he was so desperate to get me to go?'

"F-Fine." Lovino said, somewhat apprehensive. "Where is it?" he asked.

Antonio reached into his pocket, pulled out a piece of paper, and gave it to Lovino.

"There." Antonio said, pointing to the address written on the paper. "Be there at 7 o'clock today. Don't be late."

"Yeah, yeah, ok." Lovino said. "I'll be there."

"Good!" Antonio said, happily. "You'll have _a lot _of fun! I _promise_!"

"W-Wait! T-Today?" Lovino almost shouted. "Why on such short notice?" he asked.

"Um…yeah, sorry about that." Antonio said, apologetically. "I wanted to plan for tomorrow, but that time slot was already taken."

Lovino sighed, tiredly. "Fine…i-it's fine. I'll be there."

"Perfect!" Antonio yelled, making Lovino jump and wrapped his arms around him in excitement.

Lovino narrowed his eyes at Antonio.

"Get…off of me." Lovino said, menacingly.

Antonio listened and took his arms from around Lovino and smiled.

Sighing, Lovino got up from where he was sitting and dusted himself off.

"Look, I gotta go." Lovino said, looking down at Antonio. "I'll see you at seven."

"Ok. Can't wait." Antonio said, smiling.

Turning on his heel and walking off, just as he got to the edge of the forest, Lovino could swear that he heard Antonio sigh contently, in relief.

On his way home, Lovino wondered what Antonio planned for their date.

"I can't believe he got me to agree to a date with him just by saying 'please'." Lovino said to himself.

Lost in his thoughts, Lovino didn't even notice that he was at his front door.

Curious, Lovino twisted the knob.

It was still locked.

That told him that Feliciano and that damn German weren't back from their date yet.

Taking out his keys, Lovino unlocked the front door and walked in.

Letting out a big yawn, Lovino realized just how _tired_ he was.

'That's right. I was _about_ to go to sleep before that smiling _bastard_ interrupted.' Lovino thought.

Walking to his bedroom, Lovino thought it would be a good idea to take a nap before his unwanted date.

"Well…I don't want to be tired. I might as well rest for a while." Lovino said, before looking up at the clock. It was 2 o'clock. "And besides…I got five hours."

Then, Antonio's words suddenly flashed through Lovino's head.

'Don't be late.'

"Ugh, fine _four _hours." Lovino said, slightly irritated. "I mean, how far away can the place _be_?" he said, grabbing the alarm clock from off of the dresser and setting it for 6 o'clock.

And with that last statement, Lovino collapsed on his bed and fell asleep.

Lovino didn't have any particular dream during his repose. In fact, he was _so_ tired, he couldn't even _dream_. It was just a big black-out one gets when they sleep sometimes; a dream-less sleep.

_Beep, beep, beep_.

_Beep, beep, beep._

Lovino woke up to the sound of a blaring alarm clock.

Groaning, he reached over to turn it off, and he looked at it to see what time it was.

Six-thirty.

"Six-thirty?" Lovino mumbled, sleepily. "_Shit_!" Lovino yelled, sitting upright.

He only had thirty minutes to get to that address Antonio gave him.

Bolting from the bed, Lovino ran out of the bedroom door and into the hallway.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, _shit_! I'm gonna be late!" Lovino said.

He was hurrying down the stairs when he all of a sudden slowed to a stop.

Wait a minute.

'Why am I in such a rush for _him_?' Lovino thought. 'I don't have to hurry up for_ him_! Or maybe I shouldn't go anyway since I'm gonna be late. Yeah…maybe I shouldn't go. I mean, I don't _have _to go' Lovino thought, as he walked hesitantly to the front door.

As Lovino passed the threshold of the living room he could hear giggling, and to his surprise, he saw, yet _again_ Feliciano and that damn _German _making out, and this time, on the couch in a more…_extreme_ manner.

That bastard was kneeling _over _Feliciano and Feliciano had his arms wrapped around his neck.

"Oh, yeah. I am _definitely _out of here." Lovino said, to himself. "Oh, _get _a _room_ will ya?" Lovino said, loudly, startling both of them.

Startled by the sudden noise, Feliciano gasped and pushed Ludwig off of him, both blushing a deep red.

"Oh-no. S-Sorry, Lovino." Feliciano apologized.

Giving a frustrated sigh, Lovino began to walk towards the front door.

"Hey, where are you going, Lovino?" Feliciano asked, curiously.

"Out." Lovino said, simply, not wanting his brother and that bastard to know that he was going out on a _date_.

He then opened the door and closed it behind him.

"Man, your brother has the _worst _timing." Ludwig said, turning to Feliciano.

"Yeah…I know." Feliciano lamented.

Taking out the piece of paper from his pocket, Lovino looked at the address written down on it.

It didn't take long for him to figure out where it was.

When he finally got to the address he was looking for, Lovino looked up at the building.

He had seen it many times before, but he didn't know what it was.

Until now.

"A…d-dance studio?" Lovino stuttered. "Oh, God, what is this bastard planning?" he said, as he walked inside.

He walked up to the front desk and told the receptionist that he was looking for a person named Antonio.

She smiled and pointed down the hallway.

"He should be in there." she said.

Muttering a "thanks", Lovino set off down the hallway.

When he finally reached the room, he paused for a minute, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open.

Antonio, noticing that the door was opening, looked up and saw Lovino and smiled.

"Lovino!" he said. "You made it! I told you not be late." Antonio chided, softly.

"Yeah, well, I'm _here_ aren't I? Lovino asked.

"Hmm…yeah, so you are." Antonio said.

And it was then that Lovino looked at Antonio.

_Really _looked at Antonio.

Short brown hair, bright emerald-green eyes, and a smile that never seemed to fade away.

And he was dressed in a really strange getup.

A bright red shirt, black pants, and _very_ shiny shoes.

Damn.

Antonio was _sexy._

"What are you looking at?" Antonio asked, tilting his head to the side.

"U-Uh, n-nothing." Lovino said. Trying to change the subject, Lovino started again, "S-So what _is _all this?"

"Oh, this?" Antonio said, motioning around the room. "It's a dance room! I'm gonna teach you…how to _dance_." he said, striking a pose.

"W-What?" Lovino asked, with a deadpan look on his face.

"Well, this _is _a _dance_ studio after all. What'd you _think_ we were gonna do?" Antonio said, confused.

"Ohhh, goddammit!" Lovino cursed to himself.

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Antonio said, walking forward and grabbing Lovino's hand and pulling him towards the center of the room.

Lovino was _dreading _over what Antonio had in store for him.

"Now." Antonio said, turning towards Lovino. "I'll be the lead, ok? You just try to follow me." Antonio said, wrapping his arms around Lovino.

"W-What are you doing?" Lovino said, breaking free from Antonio's grip.

"What? That's how the dance goes. It's a two-person dance!" Antonio tried to explain.

"You _sneaky _bastard!" Lovino yelled. "You did this_ just _so you could put your hands on me, _didn't _you?" Lovino questioned, accusatively.

"No, it's not like that!" Antonio claimed, defensively. "I-I just thought it would be _fun_!" he said, trying to smile.

"Yeah, fun for _you_ maybe." Lovino said, narrowing his eyes at Antonio.

"Aww come on, Lovino! You're already here, you might as well _try_ to have fun." Antonio said, trying to convince Lovino. "I won't try anything." Antonio added.

Lovino crossed his arms and stared at Antonio, doubting his truthfulness.

"I _promise_." Antonio assured.

Giving up, Lovino could only sigh as he walked up to Antonio.

"Fine." he grumbled. "But grope me, and it'll be your _head_!"

Antonio laughed. "Ok, ok, I'll only dance."

Using a remote to turn on the speakers, Antonio turned around, wrapped his arms around Lovino, and waited for the music to start.

"Do you know how to Tango, Lovino?" Antonio asked, thoughtfully.

'Ugh, this is so embarrassing.' Lovino thought, as he was pressed up against Antonio.

The music started and the music filled the room.

Antonio moved first, and Lovino was broken from his thoughts when he stumbled.

"Just listen to the music and watch my feet and you'll get the hang of it." Antonio advised.

Lovino did what he was told and tried to watch Antonio's feet, but to no avail.

It didn't work, and he moved stiffly and just kept stumbling and stumbling.

"No, no, no." Antonio said, letting go of Lovino and turning off the music. "I said _listen_ to the music and watch my feet. You can't do either/or." Antonio said.

"Well, _excuse_ me if I don't know how to _fucking_ Tango!" Lovino said, crossing his arms and blushing slightly.

"Come on, Lovino, you'll get the hang of it." Antonio encouraged. "Let's try again, ok?"

"Yeah, whatever." Lovino grumbled.

"Oh, and Lovino, one more thing." Antonio added.

"What?" Lovino said.

"You're too stiff. You need to be like me and loosen up…like _this_." Antonio said, before doing a very fluid twirling motion.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll _try _to keep that in mind." Lovino said.

Turning the music on again, Antonio wrapped his arms back around Lovino. "Remember, listen to the music and watch my feet, ok?" Antonio reminded.

"Yeah, yeah, ok, geez you sound like a broken record." Lovino retorted.

The music started up again and Lovino kept his eyes firmly on Antonio's feet, while also keeping in mind to listen to the music.

While still a little bit shaky, this time went a lot better than the first try.

When the music ended, Antonio was beaming. "See, I told you you could do it! Wow, you're a fast learner!" he said, patting Lovino on the back.

Lovino tried not to blush at the sincere appraisal.

"Here, let's try again!" Antonio said, excitedly.

"O-Ok." Lovino said.

When they started dancing again, Lovino still kept his eyes on Antonio's feet, still trying to get the dance steps down.

A happy chuckle, and Lovino looked up to see Antonio smiling at him.

"See? I _knew _you could do it! Look at you!" Antonio said, proudly.

And to his surprise, Lovino saw that he was matching Antonio's moves perfectly without looking.

Feeling proud of himself, he smiled with joy.

He even started laughing as he started getting into it.

Towards the end of the song, Antonio said, "And here it comes!" as a warning to Lovino.

"Wait, here _what_ comes?" Lovino asked, confused.

And then all of a sudden, Lovino felt himself fall backwards and he let out a yelp of surprise, gripping onto Antonio's shirt in fear that he might fall.

When he didn't feel himself hit the ground, he opened his eyes to see Antonio above him, holding him up.

'Oh.' Lovino thought.

The Tango dip.

Right.

Antonio laughed loudly again.

"You were scared, weren't you?" he asked.

"N-No! I-I wasn't scared!" Lovino said, defensively.

"Riiiight. _Sure _you weren't!" Antonio said, making fun of Lovino.

"Sh-Shut up!" Lovino said, blushing.

"Awww, you're _blushing_!" Antonio gushed, poking Lovino's cheek.

"_F_-_Fuck _you, you bastard!" Lovino said, irritably.

Antonio sighed, happily.

"Ah, that was fun, yeah?" he asked Lovino.

"Yeah…I-I guess it was alright" Lovino admitted.

"And _you_ thought it wasn't gonna be _fun_!" Antonio said, in an 'I told you so' manner.

A silence as Lovino looked down at the floor.

"H-Hey." he began.

"Hmm? What is it?" Antonio asked.

"U-Um…c-can we do that again?" he asked, hating himself for wanting to dance with Antonio again. "I-I just don't want to be scared when that dip comes again. Th-that's all." Lovino admitted.

"Sure we can! Whatever you want!" Antonio beamed.

The music started and Lovino tried to move along with Antonio without thinking about the dip.

To his surprise, Lovino was actually having _fun_, which was something that he hadn't had in a _long _time.

He couldn't contain his fits of giggles as Antonio twirled him this way and that.

"Here it comes." Antonio warned Lovino, as the end of the song came closer, and when it came Lovino yelped in surprise as Antonio let him down quickly, and laughed.

After he was done laughing, Lovino looked up and saw Antonio smiling down at him.

Lovino's smile disappeared then, and he pulled himself up.

"D-Don't think I wanted to dance with _you_!" he said. "I-I just wanted to do this for _myself_!" Lovino said, looking away.

"Ok, ok, I understand." Antonio said.

'_Dammit_! Why can't I stop _blushing_?' Lovino thought.

"Oh! Oh! I know! I have an idea! Let's change the music!" Antonio said, loudly, startling Lovino from his thoughts.

"W-Wait, _another _dance?" Lovino said, in astonishment.

"Yeah, it'll be the last one, I promise!" Antonio said.

"Alright, fine." Lovino said, with a sigh.

"Wait here, ok?" Antonio said.

This time, instead of using the remote to change the music, Antonio did it manually and Lovino had no idea as to why he would to that until Antonio turned around.

When the music started, Lovino saw Antonio turn around, and when he did, Lovino saw that he had a rose in between his teeth, shirt slightly unbuttoned, and a smile on his face.

Lovino tried his best not to laugh, but it was too much, Antonio just looked _ridiculous_.

As Antonio danced his way closer, Lovino tried not to smile because he had a feeling that that's what Antonio was _aiming_ for.

Taking up Lovino in his arms, Antonio twirled him about with stunning grace.

Seeing _this_ side of Antonio, this_ attitude_ of his, made Lovino blush a deep red as he saw the passion and determination flickering behind his emerald-green eyes.

When the dance was over, Lovino could only look at Antonio in numb disbelief.

Antonio noticed Lovino staring at him and laughed saying, "I have _always_ wanted to try that. It was fun, wasn't it?"

"Y-Yeah." Lovino said, lowly.

"_Phew_!" Antonio panted. "All that dancing made me _hot_!" he said, unbuttoning his shirt little bit more.

Lovino looked at Antonio and saw what he meant.

The sweat made Antonio's chest glisten in the light.

Beads of sweat rolling slowly down the side of his neck and his chest.

Oh God.

Lovino quickly averted his gaze before Antonio realized that he was staring.

He could feel his face heating up for the millionth time today.

'_Goddammit_!' he thought.

"Ok, I'm gonna go change. I'll be right out." Antonio called back to Lovino, as he was walking to the changing room.

"Ugh, thank _God_ he's gone." Lovino said, trying to calm himself down.

Five minutes later, Antonio came back out in the same clothes Lovino saw him in earlier today.

"So, you ready to go?" Antonio asked.

"Huh? 'Go'? What do you mean 'go'? Where are we going?" Lovino asked, wondering what the _hell _else they were going to do.

"To dinner, of course!" Antonio said.

"Dinner? Why?" Lovino asked.

"Well you _did_ say that I'll have to take you out to dinner first if I'm gonna come onto you." Antonio said, smiling.

"D-Don't joke like that!" Lovino said.

"I'm _serious_! Now, come on, let's go! I know this _great_ restaurant we can go to." Antonio said.

"I-I don't know about this." Lovino said, reluctant to go.

"Oh, will you come _on_?" Antonio said, walking over to Lovino and grabbing his hand and pulling him up.

Lovino could only stare dumbly at Antonio as he let him lead him out of the building and to his car.

Letting Lovino's hand go, Antonio went around the car to the driver's side.

Before he got in, he looked up at Lovino and said, "Well? Get in."

Taking a big gulp, Lovino reached a trembling hand out towards the door, pulled it open and reluctantly got inside, slamming the door with a thud.

Antonio got in after him and closed the door.

Before he started the car up, he looked over at Lovino who was _obviously_ uncomfortable.

"Don't worry, ok? I won't hurt you. It's not like I'm a _serial _killer or something." Antonio said, jokingly.

Lovino looked at him, eyes wide with shock.

"Oh, calm down! I was just joking!" Antonio said, trying to calm Lovino down.

Sure, Lovino knew he was going on a date but he didn't _realize_ that he was going out to dinner _as well_.

Finally staring the car, Antonio put the car in drive and drove off down the street.

"Oh, you'll _love _this restaurant, Lovino. It's the _best_!" Antonio said, cheerily.

Lovino, putting his head against the window, could only wonder one thing as he watched the people, cars, and buildings pass by.

'Oh, what have I gotten myself _into_?' Lovino thought, desperately to himself.

"Wow, you sure do worry a lot don't you, Lovino?" Antonio asked. "You'll be _fine_! Just relax, and have a good time!" Antonio said, smile never fading.

'How can this guy be so _happy_ all the damn time?' Lovino thought, in wonder. 'I think they have a cure for that now.' he thought, as he eyed Antonio from the corner of his eye.

"Well…at least I get to _eat_, I guess." Lovino said, speaking up.

"There you go! See, _that_'_s _the spirit! Antonio said, excitedly.

Lovino sighed as they stopped at a red light.

'_What _have I gotten myself _into_?' Lovino thought to himself again.

Yep.

Lovino could _feel _it.

Deep in the pit of his stomach.

Tonight was going to be a _long _night.

* * *

Whew, third chapter is done! Wow, I can't believe how _long _this one turned out! I hope this will be the longest chapter I ever write for this story. But hey, who knows, you never know.

P.S. And as for the dancing scene, I know Tango didn't come from Spain and researching around the internet a while back, I found out that Flamenco did. I _wanted_ the dance scene to be with Antonio teaching Lovino how to dance Flamenco and I even watched a few videos and the dances were too much for me to describe. I could do it if I wanted to but I just got a little lazy, lol and plus, as far as I know from watching the videos, Flamenco is only a single person dance as all the videos I saw were of one person dancing. I'm sure that there are people who do it as a couple but I haven't seen one yet. But if any of you know about Flamenco, please tell me because I want to know. I don't want to get any important details wrong. But, I still do think the Tango was ok, I mean _everybody_ likes to Tango right? Well anyway, please read and review. Thank you so much! =) Look forward to the next chapter, as I always say.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hello everyone! Thanks for all the positive reviews! It makes me happy to see that you all like my story so much. It feels good to know that it doesn't suck since you're taking time to read and review. And lucky for you, more Antonio this chapter! Yay! This story is getting more fun for me to write each time I write a chapter! And so with that, chapter 4 starts now!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Lovino was busy looking out the window at the passing scenery when all of a sudden.

"Oh, look! There it is!" Antonio piped up, startling Lovino out of his thoughts with a jump.

'What? Already?' Lovino thought.

Since Lovino was lost in his thoughts most of the way to the restaurant, he didn't notice how much time had passed, and to him, it didn't even seem like that long of a ride to get there.

"Ah, I love this place!" Antonio said. "The food is really good!"

Lovino looked at the restaurant coming up in the distance.

"Wow…it's so big…and bright." Lovino said.

"Yeah, that's why I love it! So much space!" Antonio gushed, happily.

Lovino watched with silent resignation as the restaurant crept closer and closer because it meant that when they got there, the second part of their date would begin and he had _no_ idea what Antonio had planned.

"Have you ever been here before, Lovino?" Antonio asked, curiously.

"No." Lovino said, simply.

"Well good! That means it's your first time here! Oh, you're going to love it!" Antonio said.

Lovino only gave a worried sigh as they turned onto the street that the restaurant was on.

"You know, Lovino, you really need to loosen up. You sure do sigh a lot." Antonio said, looking at Lovino with an expression of what could have been annoyance.

Lovino looked at Antonio and saw his expression and blushed slightly. "S-Sorry. I-I don't mean to." Lovino muttered.

It _was _true, he _did_ sigh a lot.

Antonio then smiled again. "Aww, don't worry! You don't have to apologize! I'm just asking you to relax is all!"

"O-Ok, I-I'll try." Lovino said.

"Good!" Antonio said, pulling into the parking lot and finding a parking space. When Antonio turned the car off, he looked at Antonio and began again, saying, "Don't worry! Spend enough time with me, and you'll be comfortable in no time, ok?" he said.

Lovino blushed again. "O-Ok" he said.

"Now let's go!" Antonio said, getting out of the car.

Lovino, following Antonio, got out of the car as well and started walking to the front door.

"Wow." Lovino said, looking up at the restaurant. "It's a lot bigger up close." he said, looking up at the bright red lights that lined the building.

"Yup!" Antonio said, walking past Lovino and opening the door. "After you!" Antonio said, motioning for Lovino to enter.

Lovino looked at Antonio before blushing again. "Y-You don't h-have to do that, you know." he said, lowly.

"It's ok!" Antonio said, cheerfully. "I _want_ to!"

Lovino could only look at him. 'Why is he doing this?' Lovino thought.

"Now, let's hurry up and go inside. I'm _starving_ here!" Antonio said.

Lovino, not wanting to keep Antonio waiting for him, just walked through the door and looked all around the restaurant in awe.

Lovino felt Antonio fall in at his side and could only say, "Wow, it's a lot bigger inside." he said.

Antonio laughed. "Wow, you really _are_ new here aren't you?" he asked.

Lovino then sent Antonio a sharp look. "So what if I am?" he said, crossing his arms.

"Whoa, whoa! Calm down, Lovino. I was just kidding!" Antonio said, putting his hands in the hair like someone who wants to show they're unarmed.

Lovino looked at him and huffed, looking away.

"Aww, come on, Lovino, I'm sorry. I…just think it's cute how you're so impressed by it." Antonio said, sheepishly, putting a hand behind his head.

Lovino felt his face heat up yet again. 'Why does he keep calling me cute? It's so _annoying_!' he thought. "Whatever, let's just go." Lovino said, walking forward.

"W-Wait, Lovino! Wait for me, you don't know where to go!" Antonio called after Lovino.

"Well, where do we _go_ then?" Lovino said, impatiently and crossing his arms.

Antonio finally caught up to Lovino and caught his breath. "Just…follow…me." Antonio said, panting.

"Fine, then. Lead the way." Lovino said.

"Great!" Antonio said, walking in another direction.

Lovino, following Antonio, walked behind him and looked around, taking in more of his surroundings.

Red.

Everything was red.

The carpet, the chairs, even the table cloths.

It was a _very_ fancy restaurant.

Antonio looked back behind him and noticed that Lovino was looking all around the restaurant with awe and giggled, turning back around before stopping at the front desk a short distance away.

Too busy noticing his surroundings and not paying attention to anything else, Lovino bumped into Antonio who was stopped at the front desk.

"Hey watch where you're goin' will ya?" Lovino said, rubbing his nose.

Antonio turned around and smiled. "Oh, Lovino, you're here! I thought I lost you when I didn't hear anything. I thought you might have wandered off looking at everything!"

"Yeah, well I'm here, aren't I?" he asked.

Antonio smiled again and turned back around and started talking to someone.

"Antonio, party of two." he said, calmly.

Lovino looked around Antonio, curiously to see what he was doing.

He saw the person that Antonio was talking to flipping through a stack of paper.

"Ah! Master Antonio! Reservation for two, yes?" the person asked.

"That's right!" Antonio beamed.

"Well, if you two would be so kind as to follow me, I'll show you to your table." the person said smiling.

"That would be great!" Antonio said, following after the man. "Come on, Lovino, this way!" he said, waving his hand for Lovino to follow.

Lovino, following behind Antonio and the waiter, could only eye Antonio suspiciously. 'Master?' he thought, curiously. 'Master Antonio?'

"And here you two are. Your table." the man said, motioning for them to sit down.

"Thanks!" Antonio said, sitting down. "Come on, Lovino, sit down! What are you waiting for?" he asked.

Lovino did what he was told and sat down across the table from Antonio.

"And here's your menus." the waiter said, handing the both of them menus. "I'll let him know that you've arrived." he said.

"Thank you." Antonio said to the waiter as he smiled and walked off.

Antonio looked back at Lovino and noticed that he was looking at him suspiciously.

"What?" Antonio asked.

"Master Antonio?" Lovino asked.

Antonio chuckled sheepishly and put a hand behind his head. "Yeah, don't worry about that." he said, chuckling.

Lovino only narrowed his eyes more at Antonio before looking around.

"This place is so fancy. How can you afford this?" Lovino asked.

"Oh, that? My friend is the manager of this place. He gives me a discount." Antonio said, smiling.

"And is that why they call you 'Master Antonio'?" Lovino asked, crossing his arms.

Antonio chuckled again. "Yeah, I guess that's true." he said.

"I see." Lovino said.

"Well, why don't we look to see what we want to eat, huh?" Antonio said, picking up his menu.

"Yeah, yeah, ok" Lovino said, picking up his as well.

Lovino was looking at the extensive menu and studying the pictures of food.

'Well, it _does_ look good.' Lovino thought.

He was looking through the menu when all of a sudden a thought crossed his mind.

'Discount.'

'What the-? That son of a-!' Lovino thought, angrily. "Wait a minute!" Lovino yelled, slamming the menu down on the table, startling Antonio.

"W-What?" Antonio asked.

"You sneaky son-of-a-bitch!" Lovino yelled, but only loud enough so that only the both of them could hear; he didn't want to cause a scene.

"W-What? W-What are you talking about?" Antonio asked, confused.

"What do you mean 'what am I talking about'? You took me here just so your friend could give you a discount, _isn't _it?" Lovino said, accusingly.

"W-What? N-No!" Antonio said, defensively.

"Ha! Yeah, right! We could have went somewhere else, but no! You didn't want to spend a lot of money, huh? Cheap _bastard_! I didn't know you were like _that_!" Lovino said.

"W-Wait, Lovino! I-It's not like that!" Antonio said, frantically.

"Oh, yeah? Then what is it like?" Lovino asked.

"I-I took you here because the food is good! That's all! I would _never_ do that do you, I-I swear!" Antonio said, trying to defend himself.

"Hmm." Lovino said, still crossing his arms.

"Come on, Lovino, please believe me! I'm telling the truth!" Antonio said, desperately.

"Yeah, I'll believe _that_ when I see it." Lovino said, condescendingly.

"Can't I do something nice for you without you doubting me at every turn?" Antonio asked.

"Well, maybe if those 'nice' things weren't so suspicious, then maybe you _could_." Lovino said.

"But I'm not trying to be suspicious. I just want to show you a good time." Antonio said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's just order and eat so we can get out of here, ok?" Lovino said.

"A-Alright." Antonio said, looking back at his menu sadly.

Lovino looked at his menu as well, trying to find what to order and saw that they had pasta.

'Hey, they have pasta!' Lovino thought, happily.

A few minutes of silence later, Lovino heard a cheery voice speak up.

"Ah! Mon ami! You're here! It's so good to see you again!" the person said.

Antonio looked up and smiled. "Oh, hey Francis! It's nice to see you too!" Antonio said.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure of you coming here tonight, mon ami?" Francis asked, curiously.

Antonio smiled and motioned to Lovino who was sitting with his arms crossed.

"Ah, and who is this?" Francis asked.

"A…friend." Antonio said. "I wanted to show him this amazing restaurant."

"Ah, well it's a lucky day for you, mon ami!" Francis said, looking at Lovino. "You get to taste the most wonderful food in the entire world! Your taste buds will be _delighted_ to experience this wonderful food. It's truly a privilege to be able to come here. It's a pleasure to meet you, monsieur…?" Francis asked.

"Lovino." Lovino said, introducing himself.

"Ah, Lovino! Well, I am Francis, the owner of this five-star restaurant! Any friend of Antonio's is a friend of mine!" Francis said.

"Yeah, thanks." Lovino said.

"Now, what can I get for you two tonight?" Francis asked.

"I'll have paella." Antonio said.

Francis laughed. "Good choice, mon ami." he said. "And you, monsieur Lovino?" he said, turning to Lovino.

"Uh…I'll have some pasta please." Lovino said.

"And what would you two like to drink?" Francis asked.

"I'll have some water." Antonio said.

"Yeah, I'll have some water too." Lovino said, quickly.

"Ok, paella…and pasta. And two waters." Francis said, writing down the two foods and drinks. "Ok, great! I'll make them special for you two! You're going to love it!" Francis said, happily.

"Thanks, Francis. We'll be waiting!" Antonio said, calling after Francis.

Antonio then turned back to Lovino, who was still looking rather unimpressed.

"The food here is _great_!" Antonio said. "This isn't a five-star restaurant for _nothing_." Antonio said, confidently.

"Yeah, great." Lovino said.

"So uh…tell me about yourself." Antonio said, trying to break the awkward silence between them.

"What is there to tell about?" Lovino asked.

"You know, where you come from, what you like to do, something about your family. Typical stuff." Antonio said.

Lovino gave another big sigh before beginning. "Well, I'm Italian, I live together with my brother, and I don't really have any favorite thing I like to do. That's pretty much it." Lovino said.

"Oh." Antonio said. "Th-That's it?" he asked.

"Yep." Lovino said, simply.

"Oh…ok, then." Antonio said, softly.

"Well why don't _you_ tell me about _yourself _since you're asking _me_ all these questions." Lovino said.

Antonio piped up then, cheerfully and said, "Oh, ok! Well, I'm from Spain, I like to dance, I _especially_ like to have fun with friends, and I like to party!" he said. "Oh! And I like tomatoes!" he added as an afterthought.

"Ah. I see." Lovino said.

Lovino then started looking around the restaurant again, still amazed by its sheer size.

"Nice, isn't it?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah, I guess." Lovino said. "I would have never thought I'd ever get the chance to go _here_."

"Yeah, it really is a privilege to come here. It's so fancy. But I guess that's what you can expect from a guy like Francis." Antonio said.

"So the way you were talking made it seem like you've been here a lot." Lovino said. "So exactly how many times have _you_ been here before?" he asked.

"Oh me? I've been here many times before. But only because of parties and because I'm friends with Francis." Antonio explained. "But other than that, I haven't been here on my own that much. It's kinda lonely sitting in such a big place at a table by yourself, you know. But…I guess I don't have to worry about that now, since I'm with you." he said, smiling.

Lovino blushed again. "W-Well d-don't get used to it." Lovino said, looking away.

Antonio smiled again before Francis came back again with their food.

"Ok, you two! Paella for Antonio!" Francis said, setting the plate of paella down in front of Antonio. "And pasta for Lovino!" he said, placing the plate of pasta in front of Lovino. "And your two waters." he added, setting the glasses down in front of them. "Bon appetite!" he said, bowing.

"Wow, Francis! This looks great as usual!" Antonio said, beaming.

"Well, I pride myself in making sure that everything is exquisite and to the customer's liking!" Francis said, proudly.

Antonio laughed. "And it shows!" he said.

"Well, I'll leave you two to your dinner. Enjoy!" Francis said again, before walking off.

"Thanks again, Francis!" Antonio called after the manager.

Lovino looked down at his pasta.

Steam rose up from the food and into Lovino's face.

Pasta noodles covered with sauce and various spices along with…

'Wait. What is this?' Lovino thought, putting his fork into the food and picking it up. 'A…A tomato?' he thought, eyeing the food, confused.

He put it back down and just stared down at the steaming food.

Pasta mixed with tomatoes.

'Wow. This looks really good.' Lovino thought, looking down at the food.

And it _did._

So much so, that Lovino was drooling.

Just _smelling_ it made Lovino salivate.

He looked up at Antonio who was looking at him, expectantly.

"Come on, try it." Antonio said.

Picking up his fork again, Lovino dug it into his food, picked it up, and put it in his mouth.

When Lovino finally swallowed the food, he was speechless.

It was just _so _good!

He was about to dig in and take another bite until he remembered his embarrassing mistake earlier today with Feliciano and that damn German.

'Nope. Don't do it, Lovino. Remember what happened last time.' he thought, reminding himself of that incident.

Antonio chuckled from across the table and Lovino looked up at him.

"It's good, isn't it?" he asked.

"Y-Yeah…i-it is." Lovino said.

And with that, Antonio started eating as well.

Lovino also went back to eating and every so often, he looked at Antonio and remembered what he had said earlier and hated himself for what he had said to him.

"H-Hey." Lovino began, hesitantly.

"Hmm? What is it?" Antonio asked, looking up from his food.

"U-Um." Lovino began. "S-Sorry about what I said earlier. I-I didn't mean it. I-I was just overthinking things and jumped to conclusions. I-I'm sorry. For doubting you." he said, blushing.

Antonio looked at him before laughing. "It's ok, Lovino! Don't worry about it! It's _my _fault for doing things the way I did. I didn't even bother to explain anything to you."

"O-Ok." Lovino said.

"You know, you're really cute. Especially when you blush." Antonio said, smiling.

Lovino blushed even more which made Antonio giggle.

"See? I told you! You're so cute!" Antonio gushed.

"W-Will you s-stop calling me cute? It's so annoying!" Lovino yelled, softly.

"Aww, but I can't help it! It's _so _obvious!" Antonio said.

"W-Whatever! J-Just go back to eating!" Lovino said.

Antonio smiled and went back to eating.

Lovino sighed in relief as he returned to his food as well.

"You know." Antonio said, still chewing. "You never told me your brother's name." he said after swallowing. "What is it?"

"Feliciano." Lovino said.

"Oh." Antonio said. "Does _he _like to do anything?" he asked.

'_Other_ than that damn German bastard?' Lovino thought, bitterly. "I guess so. What _doesn't_ he like to do? He has _all_ the talent he needs to do it." Lovino said, darkly.

"Aww, come on, he doesn't have _all_ the talent." Antonio said. "I'm sure there's_ something_ you can do better than him." Antonio said, trying to reassure Lovino.

Lovino scoffed, bitterly "Yeah, well if there is, I sure haven't found it yet." he said.

"Well, do you have any hobbies?" Antonio asked, trying to change the focus from Feliciano to something else.

A short silence.

"Nope." Lovino said, simply.

"Come on, Lovino. I'm sure you have at least _one_ hobby that you like to do. What is it? Tell me...please?" Antonio said, begging for an answer from Lovino.

'Plotting to break my brother and that bastard up.' Lovino thought. "Nope. Can't think of anything I like to do." Lovino said.

"Oh…w-well, ok then." Antonio said, giving up on asking Lovino anymore questions about hobbies.

The next few minutes were of eating utensils clicking on their plates among the awkward silence between them.

Then Antonio, trying to change the subject and attempting to lighten the mood, spoke up again.

"I'm having a great time tonight." Antonio said.

"Is that so?" Lovino asked, swallowing his food and taking a drink of his water.

"Yeah." Antonio said. "You know this is a fancy restaurant. You didn't have to order plain water." Antonio said, looking at Lovino's glass. "Come on, have a little fun out on your date!"

"Well, I would have ordered wine, but I didn't want you trying to date-rape me while I was tipsy." Lovino said.

Antonio laughed again. "I wouldn't do that to you, Lovino! I'm _much_ more respectful than _that_!" he said.

"Yeah, right." Lovino said. "That goes the same for you. Why did _you_ get water instead of alcohol?" Lovino asked.

Antonio chuckled. "Well I have to _drive _remember? Unless you want me to _crash_." Antonio said laughing.

"Oh. Right." Lovino said, reminding himself.

"You funny, Lovino! I guess that's why I like you so much!" Antonio said, chuckling.

"Ah, mon ami! How is everything? Is it to your liking?" Francis said, returning to the table with a smile.

"Yes, everything is great as always!" Antonio said, contently.

"And you, monsieur? How is it?" Francis asked Lovino.

"It's actually really good." Lovino admitted. "I didn't expect it to have tomatoes in it. I've never had pasta like this before."

"Well, good! I'm glad you like it!" Francis said. "And will that be all for you two?" he asked, turning to Antonio.

Antonio paused, thoughtfully.

"Hmm." Antonio said, rubbing his chin. "Oh, I know! Can you bring us a dessert after we're done?" he asked.

"And which one would that be?" Francis asked.

"The one you have on the special menu." Antonio said.

"Oh! _That_ one?" Francis said, smiling.

"_Exactly_ that one!" Antonio said, smiling back.

"Wow! You must be having a _great _time tonight, Antonio! You rarely order _that_ dessert!" Francis then turned to Lovino. "You're very lucky! Antonio must _really _like you if he's asking for the _special_ dessert!" he said, smiling.

"What's so special about it?" Lovino asked.

Francis chuckled. "_That_, monsieur, you will find out when you taste it. It's our most popular dessert! People just can't get _enough_ of it; it's a _delicacy_!" Francis gushed, happily.

"U-Um…o-ok?" Lovino said, hesitantly.

"I'll get started on it right away!" Francis said. "Perfection takes time, you know!"

"Could you bring it out in about twenty minutes?" Antonio asked.

"Ah! I like a challenge! Very well then, I'll see you in twenty minutes." Francis said. "But until then, I bid you adieu." he said, bowing and walking off.

"Um…is this dessert really all _that_?" Lovino asked, curiously.

"All _that _and _more_!" Antonio said, happily.

"Yeah, whatever, if you say so." Lovino said, still doubting how good this dessert was rumored to be.

"You'll like it. Trust me." Antonio said. "After all, I was right about the food, wasn't I?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah, I guess so." Lovino said, before returning to his pasta.

Antonio smiled and went back to eating his food as well.

When they both finished their food, fifteen minutes had passed and they were just sitting in their booth, waiting for the special dessert.

"So are you gonna tell me or _not_?" Lovino asked.

"Tell you what?" Antonio asked.

"Don't play dumb with me." Lovino said, narrowing his eyes at Antonio. "You _know_ what I mean."

"No, I can't say that I do." Antonio said.

"Yes, you do, you _idiot_!" Lovino yelled, in a hushed tone. "Tell me what the _damn_ dessert is and what's in it!"

"Dessert? What dessert?" Antonio said, feigning confusion.

"Ugh! Come on, _dammit_. Tell me!" Lovino said, hitting his hands on the table.

"Nope!" Antonio said, smiling. "I told you that you were going to have to wait for it to come to find out." he said, crossing his arms.

Lovino growled in frustration. "Come on! I've been asking you for like ten minutes! Why won't you just _tell_ me?" Lovino asked.

"Because it'll ruin the surprise." Antonio said, simply.

"_What_ surprise?" Lovino asked, getting irritated.

"You'll find out soon enough." Antonio said, still smiling.

Lovino growled again and buried his face in one hand, frustrated. "You bastard." he said, lowly.

Antonio laughed again. "Aww, come on, Lovino! Don't be like that!" he said.

Lovino just sighed in agitation at Antonio's stubbornness.

A few minutes of waiting later, Francis came back out with the special dessert that Antonio ordered and set it on the table.

"Here you two are!" he said, uncovering the dessert.

Lovino looked at it with a confused expression.

"It's gelato!" Antonio said, with a smile.

"Yeah, so what's the big deal about it?" Lovino asked.

Francis just smiled and walked away. "Taste it and you'll see!" he said, walking off.

Reaching forward, Lovino was about to grab up the spoon until he realized what the dessert was served in.

Chocolate and vanilla gelato sprinkled with crumbs of some sort, drizzled with chocolate, and a mint leaf on top. All served in a single white bowl with two spoons sticking out of it.

Lovino narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, didn't see that coming." Lovino said, sarcastically.

"What?" Antonio asked

"Why is it served in one bowl?" Lovino asked. "Couldn't you have asked for separate orders?"

"But…that's how it's supposed to be served. They can't make it for every _single_ person. It gets to be a bit too much work, so they do this to cut down." Antonio explained.

"So that does that mean we have to share it?" Lovino asked, crossing his arms.

"Yep!" Antonio said, cheerfully. "Come on, it's not that bad!" he said, taking up a spoon in his hand.

"Yeah, great." Lovino said, taking up his spoon as well.

"I'll let you have the first taste." Antonio said to Lovino.

"Thanks." Lovino said, halfheartedly as he picked up some of the gelato with his spoon.

Before he put the spoon in his mouth, Lovino looked up at Antonio who was waiting patiently for him to eat it.

"Go on." Antonio said.

And with that, Lovino put the spoon in his mouth, tasting the frozen treat.

"Well?" Antonio asked, eagerly. "How is it?"

"Wow…it's…good." Lovino said, spoon still in his mouth.

"See? I told you it was good!" Antonio laughed. "You should listen to me more!" he said, before digging his spoon in the dessert too.

Antonio let out a contented sound when he tasted the treat.

Lovino got another spoonful and tasted it again. "No wonder this is so popular." he said. "It's really good. And so soft and creamy."

Antonio laughed again. "Yep! That's why people like it!" he said.

As they continued eating, Lovino realized what they must have looked like to any other people who might have been looking, and blushed slightly.

'We look like a high school couple sharing this dessert.' Lovino thought. 'This is so embarrassing.'

Lovino blushed even more and he was glad that Antonio wasn't looking at him or else he would have made fun of him again for blushing so much; Antonio was too busy enjoying the gelato to pay much attention to anything thing else that was going on.

After they were finished eating the dessert, Antonio put his spoon down with a contented sigh.

"Ah, that was good, yeah?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was ok." Lovino said.

Smiling, Antonio scooted across the seat next to Lovino and put his arm around his shoulder.

"I had a good time tonight, Lovino." Antonio said. "It was fun. _Really _fun."

Lovino looked at him before scoffing. "If you think I'm giving it up on the first date, you got another thing coming." Lovino said, swatting Antonio's arm away from his shoulder.

Antonio laughed again. "No, I'm not trying to get lucky. I'm being serious!" Antonio said.

Lovino only gave a doubtful, "Hmm."

"Wait." Antonio said. "'First date'? You mean we can go on another date, next time?" he asked, eagerly.

"W-What?" Lovino asked. "N-No that's not what I meant! I meant if you were trying to get lucky, you got another thing coming. I-I didn't say were going on another _date_." Lovino said, blushing at the idea of another one of Antonio's ideas of a date.

Antonio laughed again. "Aww, you're blushing again!" he gushed, poking Lovino's cheek.

"W-Will you cut that out?" Lovino said, swatting Antonio's hand away, irritably and blushing even more.

"Aww, you're so cute when you're mad!" Antonio said, resting his chin in his palm.

"_D-Dammit_, stop calling me cute!" Lovino yelled.

Antonio only stared at Lovino, smiling.

"C-Can we just get out of here already?" Lovino asked, lowly.

"Sure!" Antonio said, before waving a waiter over. "Just let me pay for this and thank Francis and we can go."

Getting up out of the booth, Lovino walked over to the front door and sat down, waiting for Antonio.

"Who the hell does he think he is, calling me cute?" Lovino asked himself.

"Oh, everything was great, Francis! You've outdone yourself this time!" Antonio said, as he and Francis were walking from the back of the restaurant.

"Well, I aim to get better and better each time, no?" Francis said, chuckling.

They both came to a stop at the front entrance in front of Lovino.

"Come back anytime, Antonio! You're always welcome." Francis said. "And it was wonderful meeting you too, monsieur Lovino." he said, turning to Lovino and smiling.

"Yeah, it was great. The food, the dessert, everything." Lovino said.

"Well, I'm glad you liked it! It pleases me to have a satisfied first customer." Francis said.

"Well, Francis it's getting late." Antonio said. "I'd better get this guy home before it gets too late." he said, pointing to Lovino with his thumb.

"Ok, I'll see when you come back! Good night! I bid you adieu." Francis said.

"Ok, see ya later." Antonio said, waving to Francis. "Ok, Lovino let's go!" Antonio said, turning to Lovino.

"Alright." Lovino said, getting up and following Antonio.

"After you." Antonio said opening up the door again and motioning for Lovino to go through.

Lovino blushed again. "I-I said you d-don't have to do that!" Lovino said.

Antonio chuckled. "It's not about _having_ to do it." he said. "I told you I _want _to!"

Lovino only scoffed before walking swiftly through the threshold.

Antonio fell in to the side of Lovino and sighed happily. "Great first date, huh?" he asked.

"I never said we were going on another date." Lovino reminded Antonio.

"Aww, why not?" Antonio asked. "You had fun didn't you? You _have _to admit you had at least a _little_ fun, right?" he asked.

"Well…I guess I _did_ have a _little_ fun. J-Just a little." Lovino said.

Antonio chuckled again. "Well, I had fun too!" he said, happily.

When they got to Antonio's car, Antonio pressed the button on the remote to unlock the car.

When Lovino reached the car, he opened the door and got in, closing it with a thud.

Antonio got in after him and before he started car, he looked at Lovino and smiled, saying, "I really did have a great time with you tonight, Lovino. It was really fun spending time with you and getting to know you." he admitted.

Startled by Antonio's sincerity, Lovino blushed and looked away so that Antonio wouldn't see him and said, "Y-Yeah, w-whatever. J-Just drive and take me home, already."

Antonio chuckled. "Sure. Just tell me where you live." he said.

"O-Ok." Lovino said.

And with that, Antonio started up the car and pulled out of the parking space and out of the parking lot.

Lovino looked out of the rear-view mirror back at the restaurant in wonder.

Antonio, noticing Lovino staring back at the restaurant, piped up.

"It's an international restaurant." Antonio said. "They serve everything there. That's why the menu is so extensive. I guess that's why they're doing so well. They have something for everybody!" he said, laughing.

Lovino looked at Antonio then, saying, "Well, that would explain why everything is so fancy."

"Yeah." Antonio said. "So where do you live?" he asked.

"I'll direct you to it…I don't want you remembering my address." Lovino said.

Antonio laughed then, saying, "Alright, alright. Just tell me when to turn."

"Ok." Lovino said.

This time, paying attention to his surroundings, Lovino noticed that it took about an hour to get from the dance studio to the restaurant what with all the traffic.

"Just go back to where we came from at the dance studio and I'll tell you where to go." Lovino said.

"Got it." Antonio said.

Once they passed the dance studio, Lovino began directing Antonio towards his house.

"Turn left here." Lovino said.

Antonio turned left.

"And a right here and keep going straight for a while." Lovino said.

"Ok." Antonio said.

They stayed on that road in awkward silence until Antonio finally spoke up again.

"I'm really glad you agreed to let me take you out on a date, Lovino. I don't know what I would have done if you didn't." Antonio said. "Thank you."

"Y-Yeah, yeah. D-Don't get used to it, pal." Lovino said, blushing. "Turn right here." he said.

Antonio turned right.

"I'm serious. I really don't know what I would have done. That's why I was begging you so much. I really wanted to spend time with you and get to know you. And I'm glad you said 'yes'." Antonio said, smiling.

"Well, that was just to get you to shut up, since you were annoying me by begging so much. Turn left here and go straight." Lovino said.

Antonio chuckled. "Well it worked, didn't it? I told you it works _every _time." Antonio said.

Lovino scoffed before looking up. "Oh! There it is! That's it coming up!" he said.

"Wow! You have a nice house!" Antonio said, as he pulled up to the curb.

"Yeah, yeah, it's beautiful." Lovino said, sarcastically.

Antonio shut the car off and Lovino got out.

Antonio got out too.

"Uh, where do you think you're going?" Lovino asked, narrowing his eyes at Antonio.

"I'm walking you to your door!" Antonio said, cheerfully. "_All_ dates end like that!"

Lovino just looked at him and sighed before walking to the front porch, with Antonio following behind him.

When Lovino climbed up the steps, he stopped at the front door, looking at Antonio who was following close behind.

Antonio finally made it up the steps and smiled at Lovino, who was still looking at him suspiciously.

"I'm _not_ kissing you if that's what you thought walking me to my door was gonna give you." Lovino said, crossing his arms.

"N-No!" Antonio said. "I-I just wanted to walk you to the door! And now that you're here." Antonio said, walking back down the stairs. "The date is almost over!"

"Almost?" Lovino asked. "What _else _is there to do?"

"Um…well." Antonio asked, digging his foot into the ground and clasping his hands behind his back. "I was wondering…if you wanted to go on another date." he said, looking up at Lovino.

Lovino scoffed. 'Is _that_ what he wanted?' he thought. "…We'll see." he said, simply, turning around and turning the door knob, opening the door. "But don't expect anything." he added.

Antonio chuckled, happily. "So is that a 'yes'?" he asked, eagerly.

"It's a 'maybe'." Lovino corrected. "I told you don't expect anything…we'll see."

"U-Um, o-ok, then." Antonio said. "Goodnight."

"Yeah, yeah, goodnight." Lovino said, walking in the house.

Antonio then walked back to his car and waved to Lovino before getting in.

Lovino waved back, halfheartedly, and closed the door behind him, leaning against it.

He waited until he heard Antonio start his car up and pull off before he got off of the door.

Sighing, Lovino got up off of the door and walked forward into the hallway.

"_Man_, that was a long date." Lovino said, to himself. "_God_, I'm tired!" he said, walking past the living room.

"Lovino!" said a surprised voice that startled him.

Lovino jumped and looked over to where the sound came from and saw that it was Feliciano running towards him.

"Oh, Lovino!" Feliciano said, running towards Lovino and hugging him tightly. "Where _were_ you?" Feliciano asked. "I was so scared! I thought something had happened to you! You _rarely_ come home _this _late!"

Lovino groaned in pain. "Yeah, well I'm fine. I came home, didn't I?" he asked, trying to pry himself from Feliciano's grip.

"Yeah, but I was so scared! Luddy had to go home hours ago because he had to go to work early in the morning and I've been here, alone ever since!" Feliciano said, hugging Lovino tighter and burying his face in his chest.

"Rrgh…w-will you get off of me already?" Lovino asked, still trying to get free. "I told you I'm _fine_!" he said.

"Ok…" Feliciano said, finally letting go of Lovino.

When Feliciano finally let go, Lovino struggled to catch his breath.

When he was finally breathing normally, he looked at Feliciano, and from the look on his face, Lovino saw that he was truly worried about him.

Giving a sigh, Lovino tried to lighten up the mood.

"Look." Lovino started. "I'm tired, ok? So let's just go to bed, huh?" he said, walking towards the bedroom.

"Ok." Feliciano said, lowly, walking behind Lovino.

When they got to their room, they pulled their clothes off and placed them on the chairs (again, with Lovino's being neater than Feliciano's) before walking into the bathroom and preparing for bed.

Once they were done in the bathroom, Lovino and Feliciano both crawled into bed.

Lovino was about to fall asleep when all of a sudden Feliciano's voice broke the silence.

"Lovino?" Feliciano asked, softly.

Lovino groaned. "What?" he asked.

"Um." Feliciano began. "W-Where did you go earlier? I-I mean…why were you gone so long?" he finally asked, curiously.

Lovino groaned again. "Don't worry about it, Feliciano. I'll tell you later, but right now I'm _really_ tired, ok?" Lovino said.

"Oh…o-ok, then." Feliciano said, turning on his side. "G-Goodnight, Lovino." he said.

"Yeah, yeah, goodnight Feliciano." Lovino said.

Within minutes of silence, Feliciano was fast asleep.

'He always goes to sleep first.' Lovino thought.

Even though Lovino was tired, he couldn't seem to go to sleep.

Almost as if something was _preventing_ him from doing so.

About twenty minutes passed and Lovino was _still_ wide awake.

Lovino let his mind wander, when all of a sudden, the day's earlier events flashed through his mind.

The dancing with Antonio, the dinner, the _sharing_ of the dessert, Antonio smiling all the time, Antonio calling him cute, and finally, Antonio asking for another date.

Lovino scoffed. 'Stupid bastard.' Lovino thought. 'Who the _hell _does he think he is, calling me cute like that? …Although…I guess I _did_ have fun with him. I've never danced like that before and the food really _was_ good…even if we _did_ have to share that dessert.' he thought, rolling his eyes at that last statement.

As Lovino's mind was wandering, another thought flashed throught his mind.

'I was wondering…if you wanted to go on another date.'

Lovino scoffed again. 'Yeah, right. Like I'd _ever_ go on another date with _him_. Lovino thought. 'Over confident bastard.'

'You know, you're really cute. Especially when you blush.'

Lovino blushed again. '_Dammit_!' Lovino thought, angrily. 'Asshole. Even when he's not _here_, he's making me blush. I _hate_ when he does that. I wish he would stop calling me cute! _God_, I don't think I've _ever_ blushed that much in my _entire_ life! Oh yeah, we'll _see_ alright! See if I _ever _go on _another_ date with him.' Lovino thought.

A shift at his side and an incoherent mumble.

Lovino looked over and saw that Feliciano was talking in his sleep.

'Sleep talking? Well _that's_ a new one' Lovino thought, looking at Feliciano.

"Oh, Luddy, don't stop. Keep going." Feliciano mumbled.

Lovino's jaw dropped in horror.

"Yes, Luddy, keep going. Don't stop. More. More!" Feliciano said.

'What the-?' Lovino thought. 'Oh, that's sick! Is he dreaming about _fucking_ that bastard?' Lovino thought, aghast.

"No, you're gonna burn it if you do it like that." Feliciano said.

At this, Lovino's eyebrow arched in pure confusion. "Huh?" he said.

"No, Luddy, you have to stir it faster, or else you're gonna burn the pasta." Feliciano mumbled.

Lovino blinked at Feliciano. "He's…dreaming about making pasta?" Lovino said, quietly to himself. "Phew, well _that's _a relief." Lovino said, relieved. "I thought I might have to choke him." he said, laughing quietly.

Lovino watched as Feliciano raised his arms in the air and started doing a stirring motion.

"See, Luddy? Like this." Feliciano said, giggling.

Lovino rose up, resting his chin in his palm, watching Feliciano in amazement as his unconscious body started acting out the steps to properly cook pasta.

Lovino chuckled. "Wow, this is better than T.V." Lovino said, smiling.

"You wanna make sure that you stir it _just_ right!" Feliciano said. "You wanna make sure that all the noodles are cooked thoroughly and that none of them are under or overcooked."

Lovino just looked down at Feliciano who had a big smile on his face and chuckled.

"That's right, Feliciano. Show that _bastard_ how to cook _real _food!" he said, proudly.

After watching Feliciano giggle and stir for a few more minutes, Lovino let out a big yawn and lay back down, still laughing quietly.

"Well _that _was funny." Lovino said. "Ah, I _needed_ a good laugh today. Thanks Feliciano." he said, chuckling.

And with that Lovino turned over and closed his eyes.

Before he drifted off to sleep, Lovino wondered, briefly, about what would happen tomorrow and if Antonio would beg him to go on another date with him. And he also wondered if he should just humor him and say 'yes' and see what kind of reaction he would get out of him.

"Hmm." Lovino said. "It's _still _a 'maybe'." Lovino said, out loud to no one.

Lovino could still hear Feliciano giggling softly behind him and smiled.

And with calm thoughts accompanied by Feliciano's giggles, Lovino fell fast asleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

Fourth chapter, done! I think this one went pretty well! I hope you all aren't disappointed by going from a super long chapter to a short one. But don't worry, that won't be the _only_ super long chapter! So look forward to that!

P.S. Yay for the Francis introduction! You know, originally, I wasn't going to put him in here but when I had the idea of Lovino and Antonio going to a fancy restaurant for their date, I just _had _to put Francis in here! I always imagined him being the owner of something fancy and the restaurant was _perfect_ setting for me to introduce him. Well anyways like always, if you have time, please read and review. And look forward to the next chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Well, looks the next chapter is finally here! I would have had this out sooner, but I have finals…and they AREN'T over T_T! But luckily, I don't have that many so I won't be super busy and not post anything in forever. But with all that aside, here you go, the next chapter! This one was actually _really_ fun for me to write! Hee hee. Here it is, chapter 5 starts now! SUPER, MEGA, ULTRA, LONG chapter ahead!

* * *

**Chapter 5**

'Lovino, I'm really glad that you agreed to go on a date with me. So, uh, do you want to go on another date? Huh? Huh? Please? PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE?'

_Beep, beep, beep._

_Beep, beep, beep._

"Ahh!" Lovino woke up with a yelp.

Panting, Lovino sat up and rubbed his head, tiredly.

"Ohh." Lovino groaned, sleepily. "Why did I dream that?" he asked, confused. "Ugh, what a terrible nightmare."

He reached over to shut the alarm off, and seeming like it was becoming the norm, Feliciano wasn't in bed.

"Ugh…_again_?" Lovino asked. "What could he _possibly_ want to do with that bastard that has him waking up so _goddamn _early?" Lovino paused for a minute. "On second thought, I don't wanna know." Lovino concluded.

Sitting in bed for a while, Lovino decided to just get up, since he couldn't possibly go back to sleep after that dream that he just had about Antonio asking him in that annoying voice if he wanted to go out on another date.

Getting out of bed, Lovino walked into the bathroom to get ready for the day. After a short while, he came out of the bathroom and walked out into the hallway and down the stairs.

"Oh God, I hope he doesn't ask me out on another date like that. I swear, if I see that bastard again today and he asks me out on another date like that I'm gonna kill him." Lovino grumbled, as he walked down the flight of stairs. "Although…I _do _wonder where he wants to go on a date if he asks me again." Lovino wondered. "N-Not that I actually _want_ to go on a date with him! I-I'm just a little curious, that's all." Lovino tried to convince himself.

As Lovino neared the end of the stairs, he heard a giggle. Most likely Feliciano's. And then a deep chuckle. Most likely that German bastard. And at this, Lovino's eyes instantly widened in shock.

"Oh God, no, no, no, _no_!" Lovino said, to himself. "Please, _please _don't let them be doing what I _think_ they're doing!" Lovino said, as he walked past the living room and towards the kitchen.

Before he got to the kitchen, Lovino stopped at the threshold, heart pounding. He stayed there for a few minutes, afraid of what he might see if he were to go into the kitchen. Finally, taking a deep breath, Lovino gathered himself up and dared to venture into the kitchen. When he saw Feliciano and Ludwig just sitting at the table, he heaved a great sigh of relief.

'Phew. They were just talking. Thank God.' Lovino thought.

"Good morning, Lovino." Feliciano said, in his usual cheery voice.

"Yeah, good morning." Lovino said back, apathetically.

"Come! Have breakfast with us!" Feliciano said.

And with that, Lovino walked forward, feeling his stomach growl, loudly.

Lovino walked up the cabinet and pulled out a plate and walked over to the food. "Wow." Lovino said. "This is a big breakfast." he said, looking at the food.

"Yeah, well I wanted it to be enough for all of us…I guess I made a little too much." Feliciano said.

"Yeah, I can see that." Lovino agreed, eyeing the food.

Eggs, crispy bacon, toast, biscuits, butter, and to top it all off, a cold pitcher of orange juice.

Looking at the food and smelling it made Lovino's stomach growl even stronger and louder. To him, it felt like his stomach was eating itself. That's how hungry he was. So not being able to wait any longer, Lovino spooned the eggs into his plate, took some bacon strips and toast with a biscuit, and poured himself a big glass of orange juice.

_God_, it all just looked so _appetizing_.

Lovino sat down at the table with his plate and started digging in right away.

"Wow, Lovino, you must have really been hungry." Feliciano said.

"Yeah, well, sometimes people just wake up hungry." Lovino said, not pausing to talk.

After a few more bites, which were just to take the edge off of his hunger, Lovino started slowing down to a normal eating pace.

Feliciano and Ludwig started eating too, and resumed their conversation.

"So Luddy, as I was saying, it's a nice day today, what do you wanna do?" Feliciano asked. "Do you wann go to the beach again?"

"No, we went to the beach already. I don't want to spoil it by going there too often." Ludwig said. "Maybe…we could just spend the day together?"

"Ok!" Feliciano said, cheerfully. "That's _perfect_! I mean _any _day I spend with _you_ is a nice day to _me_, Luddy!"

Ludwig blushed a light red and looked away as Feliciano giggled, happily.

'Ugh, disgusting.' Lovino thought, as he eyed them while eating.

"Hey, Lovino, do you want to come with us?" Feliciano asked.

"No, thanks." Lovino answered.

"Why not?" Feliciano asked.

"Because I have…plans." Lovino said.

"Plans? To do what?" Feliciano asked, curiously.

"Uh, nothing, nevermind. Just forget about it." Lovino said.

"Oh…ok." Feliciano said, shoulders slumping in slight disappointment.

'Spend the day together?' Lovino thought, absentmindedly, looking up at the clock. It was almost 11 o'clock. Unintentionally, his mind drifted back to Antonio asking him if he wanted to go on another date. Lovino shook his head, furiously, to push the thoughts of Antonio from his head, not wanting to think about him. 'Ha, yeah, right. I don't want to spend the day with _him_.' Lovino thought. Forgetting about the whole ordeal, Lovino went back to eating, however, he was uncomfortable now.

Every once in a while, Lovino found himself glancing up at the clock, every now and again, to check the time. He also started fidgeting and bouncing his knee up and down. When Lovino looked up at the clock, he saw that it was still almost 11 o'clock.

'What?' Lovino thought.

It hadn't even been ten minutes yet!

What was this?

Was it…impatience?

Did he actually _want_ to see Antonio and spend the day with him?

'No!' Lovino thought, angrily. 'I do _not_ want to spend the day with him! No way in _hell_!"

"Lovino? A-Are you ok?" came a voice that snapped him out of his thoughts.

Lovino looked up to see that Feliciano and Ludwig were looking at him.

"W-What?" Lovino asked.

"I asked if you were ok. You look uncomfortable." Feliciano said.

"Yeah, yeah, I-I'm fine." Lovino answered, quickly.

"But you've been looking up at the clock every few seconds…a-and you're moving restlessly, like you have somewhere to be. A-Are you sure you're ok?" Feliciano asked again.

"Yes, yes, I told you I'm _fine_." Lovino said. "And I _don't_ have anywhere to be." Lovino added.

"Oh…o-ok if you say so. I-It's just…it's just that I've been worried about you, lately, and you don't tell me anything, so I don't know if anything's wrong." Feliciano admitted.

"Yeah, well don't worry about me. Nothing's wrong. I promise." Lovino said.

"Ok…but remember, if there's anything wrong, you can come talk to me, ok?" Feliciano assured.

"Sure." Lovino said, simply. "Hey, aren't _I_ supposed to be the big brother? That's something _I'm_ supposed to say, not _you_. That's _my_ line." Lovino said.

Feliciano giggled. "Yeah, that may be true, but that doesn't mean we can't look out for each other. Even if I'm the younger brother, you can _still_ talk to me." Feliciano said, smiling.

"Yeah, yeah, thanks for the concern." Lovino said.

"No problem." Feliciano replied.

Looking up at the clock again, Lovino asked, "S-So aren't you two going to spend the day together? Why are you still here?" he said, needing a distraction so that he wouldn't think about Antonio.

"Well, we don't know what to do. I can't think of anything. Luddy? What do you want to do?" Feliciano asked.

"Well…I guess we could just go around town and do stuff. It would _sort of_ be like a date." Ludwig offered.

"Ok!" Feliciano cried, cheerfully. "We can go to the park and just sit with each other. Ooh! We can even watch the clouds together! Won't that be fun?"

Ludwig chuckled at Feliciano's eagerness. "Ja, that sounds like a great idea! It's a _date _then!" Ludwig said.

"Well, what are you two waiting for?" Lovino asked. "Get out there and have fun!" he urged, to try and get them out of the house so that he could leave too.

Lovino would have left earlier, but he didn't want to have to explain where he was going, like he had to do yesterday. And the only reason he _wanted_ to go was to check to see if Antonio was there at his spot.

Just to check to see if he was there.

It wasn't like he was going there to _see_ him.

If he wasn't there, then Lovino would come back.

It wasn't like he would see Antonio today, anyway, right?

"This is going to be _so _fun!" Feliciano cheered. "I get to spend the _whole day_ with Luddy!" he said, wrapping his arms around Ludwig's torso and burying his face in his chest.

Normally, Lovino would be disgusted by this showing of affection but he had no time for that now. He just wanted them out of the house so that he could "check" to see if Antonio was at his spot.

"Ja…ok, Feliciano I get it, you're happy…c-can you let go of me now?" Ludwig asked, struggling to breathe in Feliciano's crushing embrace.

"Oh! Sorry, Luddy! I just can't help myself sometimes. I'm just really exited!" Feliciano said.

'Ugh, hurry up and _leave_!' Lovino thought. "Well, if you can't help yourself, then hurry up and go! You have the _whole_ day to be with each other. Why waste it hugging here?" Lovino said, getting impatient.

"Oh, you're right, Lovino!" Feliciano chirped up. "Oh wait, but first, I have to put this up."

"Don't worry about that, I'll get it. You have fun on your adventure in town. I'll take care of everything. Just put your plates in the sink, and go." Lovino said.

"Ok!" Feliciano said. "Come on, Luddy, we're wasting time! Hurry up!" Feliciano urged, pulling Ludwig's arm and leading him to the door.

"Ow! Feliciano will you _wait_?" Ludwig asked. "We've still got plenty of daylight left."

"So let's make the most of it!" Feliciano said, cheerfully.

Ludwig could only sigh, tiredly. "Ok, let's go while my arm is still attached to mein body." Ludwig said.

Feliciano giggled again. "Ok! Bye, Lovino! See you when we get back!" Feliciano yelled from the door.

"Yeah, yeah, have fun." Lovino said.

Lovino heard the door close then, and walked over to the window to see when they would leave.

He saw Feliciano and Ludwig get into his car (after Ludwig pried himself from Feliciano's grip, of course) and after a few minutes, they were gone.

Lovino finally heaved a sigh of relief. "Ugh, finally they're _gone_." Lovino said. Lovino then looked up at the clock. It was almost 12 o'clock. "Wow." Lovino said. "That was a good distraction."

Lovino then walked back to the kitchen table and grabbed up the plates, putting them in the sink.

After washing the dishes and utensils and putting them away, Lovino walked over to the front door and grabbed up the house keys.

Opening the door and locking it behind him, Lovino set off down the street, towards the forest.

"I just want to see if he's there, that's all. That's _all_ I'm gonna do. I mean, I don't want him getting all hurt and think I stood him up…wait, why _would_ he? We're not _dating_! I don't _have _to meet him _anywhere_!" Lovino said.

As Lovino got closer and closer to the edge of the forest, he did his usual task of looking around to make sure that he wasn't being followed.

Paranoia?

Maybe.

But it was better to be safe than sorry

Seeing that he wasn't being watched, Lovino headed into the woods.

As he was walking through the woods, Lovino scoffed. "I shouldn't even be coming here." Lovino said, lowly. "I mean, why do I even _care_ about his feelings? I don't care. He's _nothing_ to me." Lovino said, hating himself for coming all the way out here just for Antonio's sake. "I'm just gonna check, and if he's not here, I'm leaving."

A few minutes later, Lovino reached the clearing, and as expected, Antonio wasn't there.

Lovino looked around, here and there, trying to see any sign of Antonio, but there was none.

He looked around for a few more minutes before finally giving up.

"Oh, well." Lovino said. "I looked, and he's not here. Now, I don't have a reason to be here anymore. I said I was gonna check to see if he was here, and if he wasn't, then I was going back home."

And with that, Lovino turned on his heel and started walking back towards the forest. He had almost gotten to the edge of the forest when all of a sudden.

'I was wondering…if you wanted to go on another date.'

Those words suddenly popped up in Lovino's head, once again.

Lovino stopped in his tracks and slowly looked back over his shoulder.

"Maybe…I _should_ wait for him." Lovino said, quietly. "I mean, I never _did_ give him an answer." he said, turning around. "I-I mean, I can still say '_no_'! I don't _have _to agree to another date! Lovino said, as an afterthought. "I'm just gonna give him an answer. J-Just like he wanted."

Then, giving a big sigh, Lovino walked forward to the edge of the cliff, and sat down like he always did.

Lovino sat there for a while, waiting, until there was a sudden rustling in the woods.

"Huh. As expected." Lovino said, to himself.

Lovino looked around to see where the noise was coming from and even though he knew it was Antonio, there was still a doubt in his mind that it couldn't have been.

It _is _a forest, after all.

There were bound to be animals in there, _somewhere_.

After a few minutes of rustling in the bushes, the rustling finally stopped.

Lovino looked around, expecting to see Antonio, but to his surprise, he wasn't anywhere to be found.

'Is he coming?' Lovino thought, to himself.

Convinced that Antonio wasn't coming, Lovino turned his attention back to the horizon.

Then all of a sudden, the rustling started up again and sure enough, there was Antonio walking towards Lovino.

Lovino looked at him from the corner of his eye and saw that he had that smile on his face as usual.

'Geez, why is he so _happy_ all the goddamn time?' Lovino thought, to himself, as Antonio made his way closer and closer.

When Antonio finally got to Lovino, he spoke up.

"Hi, Lovi!" he said, walking up to him.

Lovino was taken aback.

"_Lovi_?" Lovino said. "Where'd you get _that _name from?" he asked.

"It's a nickname I made up for you!" Antonio said, happily. "It's short for 'Lovino'!" he said, sitting down next to Lovino.

"Ugh, I _know_ that, you idiot. What, do you think I'm stupid?" Lovino asked.

"N-No, no! Of course not!" Antonio defended. "I just thought I'd give you a nickname."

"Why? Why are you calling me that? I didn't ask for a nickname. Besides, it's stupid anyway." Lovino said, darkly.

"Well." Antonio began. "I thought that since I know you, I can give you a nickname. And I don't think it's stupid. I think it's cute for you."

Lovino could feel that familiar heat on his face again and turned away from Antonio, looking back at the horizon.

Breaking the silence between them, Antonio spoke up again. "So, yesterday was fun, huh? Did you have a good time?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was alright." Lovino said.

"I'm still really glad you agree to go on a date with me. It really meant a lot to me." Antonio said, smiling.

Lovino blushed even redder. "Y-Yeah, well, d-don't get used to it." Lovino said.

"You know." Antonio said, scooting closer to Lovino and leaning towards his direction. "You never did give me an answer as to whether you wanted to go on another date with me."

"I-I told you, i-it's a maybe!" Lovino snapped.

"Sooo." Antonio pressed on. "What's your answer?" he asked.

"I already _gave_ you an answer!" Lovino said.

"But that's not telling me anything." Antonio said, softly. "E-Either you, do o-or you don't. W-Which is it? T-Tell me." Antonio said, expecting Lovino to say 'no'.

Lovino didn't answer and only gave an uninterested, "Hmm."

"O-Ok then." Antonio said, sadly. "I-I mean, I _wanted_ to go to the beach today, since it's such a nice day, and all, but if you don't want to go anywhere…Do you want to go to the beach?" Antonio asked, hesitantly.

"No." Lovino said, simply.

"Why not?" Antonio asked, mood dropping, fearing the worst.

"I don't like the beach. That sand is hot and it burns my feet." Lovino said.

"W-Well, you can wear shoes or something!" Antonio quickly suggested. "C-Come on! It's such a nice day! The beach is the _perfect_ place to go!" Antonio said, begging Lovino to say 'yes'.

Lovino then looked over at Antonio who was looking absolutely _desperate_.

"Please?" Antonio asked.

"Meh, I don't think so." Lovino said.

"_Please_?" Antonio asked again.

"I told you 'no'." Lovino said.

"I'll beg again." Antonio warned. "I-I'll do it! R-Really."

Lovino just looked at him and cocked an eyebrow.

Lovino then remembered what he thought earlier about humoring Antonio by agreeing to go on another date with him.

He paused for a moment to think about it.

Antonio, thinking that Lovino was going to flat out refuse to go on another date, took a deep breath.

And Lovino, seeing that Antonio really_ was_ about to beg, widened his eyes in disbelief.

'Oh God! It's just like the dream!' Lovino thought, panicking.

Before Antonio could let out the inevitable 'please', Lovino spoke up to stop him.

"Alright, alright!" Lovino said, raising a hand in the air. "I'll go to the goddamn beach already…you _happy_ now?" Lovino asked.

Antonio, finally getting the answer he wanted, stopped and smiled. "Yeah!" he said, cheerfully.

"I swear to God, if you ask me on another date like that, I'm gonna kill you." Lovino said, darkly.

Antonio laughed. "Of course not, Lovi! I would _never_ keep doing that to _you_! It's just so that you can spend time with me more! You just need to get used me is all." Antonio said.

"Whatever." Lovino said. "So when do you want to go? I'm assuming today?"

"Yep!" Antonio said. "I told you it's a nice day. Why _wouldn't _we go today?" he asked.

Lovino growled in frustration. "What time?" he asked.

"Hmm." Antonio said. "I don't know yet. Just go home and get ready, and I'll pick you up when I get there."

Lovino stared at him. "Are you serious?" he asked. "That's not very helpful."

"Well, it won't be _that_ long of a wait. It'll be really fast, I promise. All I have to do is go home and get all my stuff." Antonio said. "You do that too, so we can leave as soon as I get there, ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah, ok." Lovino said.

"Oh Lovi, you're gonna have so much fun!" I haven't been to the beach in _forever_!" Antonio said, happily.

"Yeah, I bet." Lovino said, unconvinced.

Antonio sighed. "Still doubtful as usual, huh?" he asked.

"Whatever." Lovino said. "Look, I'd better go if I'm gonna get ready when you come pick me up." he said, standing up and dusting himself off.

"Ok." Antonio said. "See ya when I pick you up!" he said, waving to Lovino.

With that, Lovino turned on his heel and started walking towards the forest. When he got to the edge of the forest, Lovino looked back at Antonio who was still smiling, before he walked through the bushes.

As he was walking through the forest, Lovino started thinking to himself.

'I can't believe it. He got me to agree to _another_ date! Why can't I ever say '_no_' to him?' Lovino then remembered Antonio's pathetic method of asking him out. 'Oh yeah, that's right.' Lovino reminded himself.

When Lovino reached the end of the forest and back into town, he started having second thoughts about going to the beach.

'Man, I really don't want to go to the beach. I hate that goddamn sand! Although…' Lovino thought, looking up at the sky. 'It really _is_ a nice day today…maybe going to the beach today won't be _too_ bad.'

After a few minutes of walking later, Lovino reached his house. When he walked up the steps, Lovino reached out and twisted the knob.

It was locked.

"Yes!" Lovino said, to himself. "Now I won't have to explain where I'm going. For _once_, I'm glad that that damn bastard is out with Feliciano."

Taking out his keys, Lovino pick out the house key and put it in the front door and turned it. When Lovino opened the front door, he walked straight up to him room to get ready to go to the beach.

Walking to his dresser, Lovino opened the drawer and started rooting through the articles of clothing. When he didn't find what he needed, he closed the drawer and opened the one under it.

"No, no, no." Lovino said, to himself, while searching each drawer. "Aha!" he finally said, when he opened the last dresser and found what he was looking for.

Lovino pulled out a pair of swim trunks and threw them on the bed. Then he went about looking for other stuff he needed for the beach. A towel to sit on, sunglasses, a carrying bag, and sunscreen.

"Wait." Lovino said. "What the _hell_? Where the hell is the sunscreen?" Lovino asked, looking through the cabinets and drawers in the bathroom. "Great. Just fucking great. Now I'm gonna get sunburned." Lovino said, frustrated.

Walking out of the bathroom, Lovino gathered up the little of the stuff that he had, put it in the bag, walked back downstairs and sat down in the living room.

"Well." Lovino said, simply. "I'm ready. What the _hell_ taking _that_ bastard so long?" he asked.

With nothing else to do, Lovino reached over, grabbed the remote, and turned the T.V. on.

Lovino looked up at the clock.

It was almost 1 o'clock.

He hadn't even been home for ten minutes yet; it didn't take him that long to gather up the stuff that he needed.

After a short while watching T.V. later, Lovino heard a honking outside his house.

Lovino walked over the window and saw that it was Antonio. Antonio then started getting out of the car and Lovino rushed to get his things before Antonio got the chance to walk up to his door.

A knock at the door.

Lovino's eyes widened because he didn't want Antonio to be looking around his house while he was standing in the doorway.

So, grabbing up his bag, Lovino quickly opened the front door to a very happy Antonio.

"Hi, Lovi! You ready to go?" Antonio said.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go. Lovino said, trying to push Antonio back down the steps.

"Hey, nice place you got here." Antonio said, looking past Lovino.

"Yeah, yeah, it's beautiful." Lovino said, sarcastically. "Can we go now?" Lovino asked.

"Sure! Let's go!" Antonio said, turning around.

Closing the door behind him, Lovino made sure it was locked before turning around and following Antonio down the porch.

When they finally got to the car, Lovino sighed in relief.

Opening the door, Lovino got inside of the car with Antonio.

A silence as they just sat there in the car.

"So you remembered where I lived_ anyway_, huh, bastard?" Lovino said, lowly.

Antonio laughed. "Yup! Sure did! What's wrong with that? I mean, I was _gonna_ find it eventually." Antonio said.

Lovino just sighed and put his face in his hand.

"So you ready?" Antonio asked.

"As I'll ever be." Lovino answered back.

Smiling, Antonio started up the car and pulled off.

As they made their way down the road, it didn't take very long to get to the coastline, probably because Lovino wasn't paying very much attention to the car ride there.

Lovino was snapped out of his thoughts when the car came to a stop and Antonio turned the car off.

"Well. We're here!" Antonio said, excitedly.

"Yay." Lovino said, halfheartedly.

"Oh, come on, don't be like that. Now let's go." Antonio said, getting out of the car.

Reluctantly, Lovino stepped out of the car and into the bright sunlight.

Lovino turned around as Antonio went around to the back of the car to lift up the trunk.

He watched as Antonio pulled out various beach equipment.

A towel, a bag which was probably a change of clothes, a basket mostly likely containing snacks, and a _huge_ umbrella.

"Wow. You sure brought a lot of stuff." Lovino said, eyeing all of the things Antonio had.

Antonio laughed. "Well, I like to be prepared!" he said. "It's been such a long time since I've been to the beach, so I never get to use this stuff often."

Lovino could only mutter a, "Hmm." as he shielded his eyes from the sun, looking around the beach.

Lovino heard the sound of the car trunk slam down and when he turned around, Antonio was beaming.

"Well? Shall we go?" Antonio asked.

"Alright. You lead the way." Lovino said.

And with that, Antonio walked pass Lovino, still smiling.

Lovino followed behind him looking around when all of a sudden, Antonio stopped and Lovino bumped into him.

"Hey why'd you stop?" Lovino asked, rubbing his nose. "Hey, I'm talking to you!"

Lovino looked around Antonio to see that he was surveying the beach, most likely looking for a suitable place to sit.

"Aha!" Antonio finally said, and walking towards his intended destination.

"Hey, wait up, will ya?" Lovino called after Antonio.

After walking for a short while, they finally came to a stop at the place that Antonio had picked out.

Laying his things out on the ground, Antonio started setting up.

Lovino looked down at his bag and simply laid his towel down next to Antonio's.

Well that was it. Lovino was all set up.

Looking up, Lovino saw Antonio stand the umbrella up in the sand, triumphantly.

Antonio then looked back up at Lovino and smiled.

"Well? Now that we're all set up, shall we go change?" he asked.

"Yeah, alright, just let me get my stuff." Lovino said, digging through his bag.

Antonio waited and when Lovino got his change of clothes out, they started toward the changing rooms.

When they got there, Antonio turned to Lovino and said, "Well. See you when I'm done changing!"

"Yeah, whatever." Lovino said, walking into the changing room.

When Lovino walked into the room, he started taking his clothes off and replaced them with his swim trunks. Before he got out, Lovino paused to look at himself in the mirror and deeming himself decent, walked out of the room.

When he walked out, Lovino looked around for Antonio, who was nowhere to be seen.

"What is he still changing? It doesn't take _that_ long to change into swim clothes." Lovino said, to himself.

Then all of a sudden, Lovino was startled by a sudden loud voice which made him jump.

"Oh, you're here! I guess you got done before me." Antonio said, chuckling.

"You're damn right, I got done before you." Lovino said, turning around. "What the _hell_ took you so lo-"

Lovino's jaw dropped at the sight.

"What?" Antonio said, tilting his head to the side.

Lovino looked Antonio over and saw that he was wearing nothing but a black speedo.

Here he was in normal swim trunks, and that bastard had the gall, the _nerve_ to wear a goddamn speedo.

"Ugh, do you _have_ to wear that?" Lovino asked, looking at the swimwear.

"What? What's wrong with it?" Antonio asked, confused.

"What do you mean 'what's wrong with it'?" Lovino said, in disbelief. "You're basically naked!"

"So?" Antonio said. "You're _supposed_ to be half-naked at the beach."

"Yeah, but I didn't think that you'd wear _that_!" Lovino said.

"Oh, come on, lighten up! It's fine! I mean, after all, we _are_ at the beach!" Antonio said, spreading his arms.

Lovino could only stare at Antonio, wearing a speedo, in disbelief.

"Hey! Lovi! I'm up here!" Antonio said, pointing to his eyes. "What are you looking at?"

Lovino's face reddened and his brow lowered. "O-Oh, d-don't flatter yourself!" Lovino yelled. "I was _not_ looking there!"

Antonio laughed, smugly. "Oh, _sure_ you weren't!"

Lovino's voice lowered. "Bastard." he said, eyes narrowing, as he walked past Antonio.

"Oh, come on! I was just kidding! Wait up!" Antonio called after Lovino.

Lovino then paused at the edge of the sand and looked down at it in reluctance.

"What's wrong? Aren't you going to go sit down?" Antonio asked, walking up next to Lovino.

"I'm _going_ to." Lovino said, looking down at the sand. "I just have to gather myself before I walk on this sand."

"Well." Antonio began. "If the sand's too hot for you…I could always _carry_ you." Antonio offered. "Do you want me to?" he asked.

"Ha, no way in _hell_!" Lovino said, finally walking forward.

_God_, that sand was fucking hot!

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" Lovino said, every time his feet hit the sand. "Ow, _goddamn _it!" Lovino yelled.

When they finally got back to their spot, Lovino plopped himself down on his towel and crossed his arms. Antonio finally caught up and sat down too.

"Aw, come on, I'm sorry! You know I was just joking!" Antonio said.

"Ha, yeah right. Smug bastard. And like I'd _ever_ look at you like that." Lovino said.

"It was just a joke. I didn't think you'd take it like that." Antonio said, apologetically.

"Whatever." Lovino said.

Looking around, Lovino took in his surroundings.

He saw that they had a good spot. Not too close to the water and not too far; it was just right.

Antonio really _did_ pick a good spot to sit down.

"Ah, this is great! I'm having a good time, Lovi!" Antonio said.

"Yeah, great." Lovino said, cringing from his new nickname.

"So what do you wanna do?" Antonio asked, turning to Lovino. Do you want to go play in the water?" Antonio asked.

"No, I'm fine." Lovino said.

"Then what do you wanna do?" Antonio asked again.

"Just sitting here's fine." Lovino said.

"Oh, ok then." Antonio said.

After a short while of silence, Antonio chirped up.

"Oh! I know!" Antonio said. "You want some ice cream?" he asked. "It's kinda hot out."

"Yeah, I guess." Lovino answered. "But I don't have any money."

"Oh, don't worry about that! I got it!" Antonio said, happily.

"Well…ok then, if you're sure." Lovino said.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Antonio said. "What flavor do you want?"

"I don't know, chocolate?" Lovino said.

"Ok!" Antonio said. "Wait here, I'll be right back." he said, getting up.

"Alright." Lovino said.

And with that, Antonio turned around and started walking towards the ice cream stand.

As Antonio was walking away, Lovino stared after him. His eyes traveled down Antonio's body, until they finally came to rest on his butt.

Lovino just stared at Antonio's butt swaying back and forth in the skintight swimwear.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

When Lovino finally realized that he was staring at Antonio's butt, he blushed and shook his head, violently, to clear his mind.

'Oh my God. Was I just staring…at his butt?' Lovino thought, to himself. "Oh God, now I feel like a lusty schoolgirl." Lovino said, to himself. "Stupid bastard. Wearing that goddamn speedo. I bet he did that on _purpose_!" he said, blushing even more.

Lovino, not wanting to think about it, turned his attention to _anything but_ Antonio.

After a short while later, Lovino saw Antonio returning with two ice creams in his hand. One chocolate and one vanilla. Lovino turned his head away, still blushing, after realizing that he was just staring at Antonio a while back.

"I'm back!" Antonio said, cheerfully. When he got back to the area that they were sitting at, Antonio sat down and handed the chocolate ice cream to Lovino. "Hey. Are you ok? You face is red." Antonio said.

"Y-Yeah, I-I'm fine." Lovino said, taking the ice cream.

"That's good." Antonio said.

Trying to forget the whole staring ordeal, Lovino started eating his ice cream.

A few minutes later, Lovino heard a sigh, and sensing he was being watched, he looked over to see that Antonio was staring at him very intensely.

"What?" Lovino said.

"Wow, Lovi. The way you lick that ice cream." Antonio said.

"What about it?" Lovino asked.

"Ah, that's the luckiest ice cream in the world." Antonio sighed, wistfully. "I wish _I _could be that ice cream."

Lovino blushed again. "You're stupid." Lovino said. "And will you stop calling me 'Lovi' already?" Lovino asked.

"But why?" Antonio asked. "I _like _your nickname. It suits you." he said, happily.

"Well, _I_ don't." Lovino said, darkly.

"Well, you just need to get used to it is all. That's why you don't like it, 'cuz it's unfamiliar. Oh, I know!" Antonio said. "Why don't _you_ give me a nickname?" he asked.

Lovino stared at Antonio. "No, thanks." Lovino said, turning his attention back to his ice cream.

"Aww, why not?" Antonio asked.

"Because I don't want to." Lovino said back.

"But that's not fair. Why do you get to have a nickname and I don't?" Antonio whined.

"Hey, _you're _one who decided to give _me_ a nickname. It's your own fault." Lovino said. "And besides, do you _really_ think that you should be worried about a nickname right now?" Lovino asked. "Your ice cream is melting." Lovino said, pointing to the melting ice cream running down Antonio's hand.

"Huh?" Antonio said, looking down at his melted ice cream. Antonio then laughed. "Oh! I totally forgot about it." Antonio said, switching the ice cream to his other hand and licking off the melted treat on his hand. "Thanks!" he said.

"Hmm." Lovino said, returning to his ice cream.

Once Antonio got his ice cream situation under control, he switched his ice cream to his now clean hand.

"Ah, it's so nice out today!" Antonio said, cheerfully. "We should come here more."

"Why do you keep thinking that we're gonna keep going out on dates?" Lovino asked.

"Well, because I know you like spending time with me." Antonio said.

Lovino then looked at Antonio in disbelief. "Ha! Like _hell_ I do!" Lovino yelled. "The only reason I keep going out on dates with you is because you keep _begging_ me to!"

Antonio laughed. "Say what you want, but you _know_ that deep down, you _like _spending time with me." Antonio said, leaning towards Lovino.

"Yeah, sure, whatever. Keep telling yourself that. Whatever helps you sleep at night." Lovino said.

Antonio laughed again. "I don't have to keep telling myself something that I know is true!" he said, finally finishing his ice cream.

"Whatever. It's _not _true." Lovino said.

After Lovino finished his ice cream, he laid back onto his towel, crossing his hand behind his hand.

Antonio just chuckled unconvinced of Lovino's statement.

They stayed like that for a while, Lovino laying back and Antonio sitting up, looked at the ocean.

And then all of a sudden, a group of girls walked by.

As they were walking by, they stopped a short distance in front of Lovino and Antonio and just stared at them. Or rather stared at Antonio. When Antonio noticed that they were staring at him, he smiled and waved.

The girls who were staring just squealed and giggled at Antonio's flirtatious actions as they finally walked on.

"Ugh." Lovino said, raising himself up. "Seriously, did you _have_ to wear that?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Antonio asked.

"Well, that's the reason why they were staring! You're pretty much _naked_!" Lovino yelled.

"They were just being nice, so I was being nice back." Antonio said.

"Oh, please! They weren't being _nice_! They were _ogling_ you!" Lovino yelled.

"Well, what's wrong with that?" Antonio asked.

"'What's wrong with that'? Everyone can _see_ you!" Lovino yelled.

"So?" Antonio said.

"And it just wasn't those girls, _everyone_ has been staring at you since you put that thing on! My _God_! At _least_ cover yourself up! Have some _decency_!" Lovino yelled.

"Lovi, what's wrong?" Antonio asked. "Are you ok? Why are you acting this way? Is there something wro-ohhhh, I get it." Antonio said.

"What? Get what?" Lovino asked.

Antonio then chuckled, confidently. "I see. It _all_ makes sense to me now." Antonio said, rubbing his chin, thoughtfully.

"What? _What_ do you see? _What_ makes sense to you?" Lovino asked, getting impatient.

Antonio turned to Lovino then.

"You're _jealous_!" Antonio said, smiling.

"W-What? No, I'm not!" Lovino yelled.

Antonio laughed, loudly. "Yes, you are! That's why you're acting like this!" Antonio said.

"No, it isn't! I am _not _jealous!" Lovino yelled, defensively and blushing.

"Then why are you blushing?" Antonio asked. "_You're_ jealous and_ you_ know it!" Antonio teased.

"I am _not_, _dammit_!" Lovino yelled, getting even more frustrated.

Antonio laughed. "Yes, you are! _You're_ jealous because everybody can see _my_ body and _you _want it _all _to _yourself_, so only _you_ can see it!" Antonio said, leaning towards Lovino with that smile on his face.

"Oh, f-fuck off! D-Don't flatter yourself!" Lovino yelled.

Antonio chuckled. "Aww, don't worry, Lovi! I won't go with anyone else. I like _you_!" Antonio said. "And you can _have_ my body. Come on, we can go to the changing rooms and when we get there, we can _explore_ each _other's_ bodies. And _nobody_ will be able to see me, except _you_, just like you wanted. Come on, since you're so _curious_ to see it." Antonio said, seductively.

Lovino blushed so much that his whole face was almost red. "N-No! F-Fuck you, you goddamn _pervert_!" Lovino said, turning over away from Antonio. "Smug, overconfident, stupid, cocky bastard! I don't know what kind of people you dated before me, but I am_ not_ that kind person!" Lovino said, now facing away from Antonio.

Antonio laughed. "Oh, Lovi, I was just kidding. It's so fun to see you like this!" Antonio said.

"Go to _hell_, you goddamn bastard!" Lovino said.

"Aww, Lovi, you're so _cute_ when you're like this!" Antonio said, laughing.

Lovino huffed and crossed his arms, grumbling.

"Aww, come on, I was just kidding! You ought to know that by now! Please don't be mad at me. You know I like to joke around." Antonio said, trying to apologize.

"Yeah, but do you have to do it like _that_?" Lovino asked.

"Like what?" Antonio asked, confused.

"All flirty like that. I hate when you do that. It makes me feel uncomfortable." Lovino muttered.

"That's just who I am! It's a _part_ of me!" Antonio said.

"Yeah, I'll say." Lovino said, turning over on his stomach.

"Huh?" Antonio said. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Going to sleep." Lovino answered.

"Sleep? But why?" Antonio asked.

"Because you tired me out with all you're joking." Lovino said, lowly.

"But this is a date. You aren't supposed to go to _sleep_." Antonio said. "What am I supposed to do if you're sleeping?" Antonio asked.

"I don't know. Go play in the water or something." Lovino said.

"But it won't be any fun if I play by _myself_." Antonio said.

"Well, there's a lot of people in the water right now. Go play with them." Lovino said. "Now let me sleep. I'm tired."

"O-Ok." Antonio said. "Have a good rest."

"Oh, you can bet I will." Lovino said.

And with that, Lovino shut his eyes and went to sleep.

Some time passed and Lovino was still asleep.

Lovino then slowly started to wake up, groggily, and all of a sudden, he felt something cold squirt on one of his legs. He didn't open his eyes to look to see what it was; he just cocked an eyebrow in confusion. He then felt a pair of hands rub up and down his leg, rubbing whatever had just squirted on his leg into his skin.

The pair of hands rubbed up until the back of his knee, since he was wearing knee-long swim trunks, and back down again.

He didn't know who the hands belonged to.

He didn't care.

All he cared about was that the hands just felt so _good_!

The hands then moved down to his foot, massaging it.

Lovino did _not_ want this feeling to end.

When the hands were done with one leg, they moved onto the other leg.

Lovino felt that same cold substance squirt on his other leg and that same pair of caring hands rubbing his leg again. And like on his other leg, the hands rubbed up until the back of his knee and then back down again. This lasted for a while until the hands finally moved down to his other foot and massaged _it_ as well.

The wonderful sensation stopped and Lovino pouted softly, not wanting that feeling to end.

And then, all of a sudden, Lovino felt a weight rest itself on the backs of his thighs.

He was about to get up to see what it was until he felt that same cold feeling that was on his legs squirt onto his back. When the sudden cold touched his back, Lovino jumped, slightly, not expecting when it would hit him. Then like on his legs, Lovino felt that same pair of hands rub the substance into his back.

_God_, Lovino was in absolute _heaven_.

Lovino just laid there with his eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of the hands working the cool substance into his back.

Lovino _loved_ those mysterious hands.

Just the way that they worked, rubbing and massaging his back.

So soft, so gentle, yet so firm and confident at the same time.

Another squirt of cold on his back which made Lovino jump slightly again.

And this time, the hands moved up to his upper back and massaged his shoulders so gently and tenderly.

_God_, it just felt so damn _good._

Unintentionally, Lovino let out a small moan.

But the hands just kept going and wouldn't stop working at his back.

The massage just felt so good, that Lovino started letting out more and more small soft moans.

"Wow, Lovi. Does it really feel _that_ good?" came a sudden voice.

Lovino's eyes snapped open, and turning his head and torso as much as the weight on top of him would allow, he saw that it was Antonio just staring down at him with an eyebrow cocked in confusion.

Lovino just stared at Antonio above him for a short while, in complete and utter disbelief.

He couldn't believe it.

A horrible flush of red to his cheeks as Lovino came to the realization that the hands-those _very_ hands that was giving him the massage that he loved…belonged to Antonio.

"Wha-?" was all Lovino could say.

"What?" Antonio asked.

"Th-That was you?" Lovino asked in utter disbelief.

"Well, of course it was!" Antonio said. "Who did you _think_ it would be?" he asked in confusion.

"Wha-" Lovino began again. "W-Wait. B-But how did you know I was awake?" Lovino asked, shakily.

"Well, to be honest, I didn't. I thought you were still asleep until I heard you start moaning." Antonio confessed.

"Th-Then what were you putting on me?" Lovino asked.

"Sunscreen!" Antonio said, smiling and holding up a bottle of sunscreen. "I didn't want you to get sunburned. When I saw that you didn't put any sunscreen on, I figured you didn't have any, so I decided to put some on you. Now, turn around, I'm not done yet."

Not being able to take the sheer embarrassment any longer, Lovino snapped.

"N-No. G-Get off of me. J-Just get off. N-Now." Lovino stuttered.

"Come on, Lovi, I'm just putting sunscreen on you." Antonio said. "It's not like I'm gonna molest you or something."

"N-No! I-I don't care! Get the _fuck_ off of me! _Now_!" Lovino yelled.

"Wait! Come on, it's just sunscreen! Just calm down. _Relax_!" Antonio said. "Now, come on, turn around, I'm almost done." Using his hands, Antonio pushed Lovino back down flat on his stomach and started rubbing the sunscreen into his skin again.

Lovino didn't even bother to fight back. The shame and embarrassment was just too much for him. So he just laid there, face red and letting Antonio do as he would. He just couldn't believe that he actually _liked_ the massage that Antonio was giving him.

But it _still_ felt really good…even if he found out that it was Antonio was the one doing it all along.

"Wow, Lovi. You're so tense. Relax a little." Antonio said, working Lovino's muscles.

Lovino, still in shock, still kept his body tense in resignation as he felt Antonio's hands work on his back.

This tensed up feeling that Lovino had, still lingered for a short while.

Eventually, after a while of feeling Antonio's soft, gentle hands working the sunscreen into his back, Lovino finally relaxed his muscles and lay flat.

"See?" Antonio said. "There you go. Now, that wasn't so hard, now was it?" Antonio asked smiling.

Lovino, knowing that he couldn't get out of this, didn't reply.

Instead, he figured that he should at least_ try_ to enjoy the massage.

Now, relaxing completely, Lovino let Antonio rub his hands all over his back, finding tight spots and loosening them.

Antonio then started massaging lower. And lower. And lower, still. And lower, until finally.

"Uh, you're going a little low there, Antonio." Lovino reminded.

Antonio chuckled. "Ohh, okay. You caught me" Antonio said, moving his hands up again.

The dark red blush that was spread across his face, now faded into a slight pink playing across his cheeks. Closing his eyes, in slight embarrassment, Lovino clutched the towel beneath him in his hands, secretly wishing that this heavenly feeling would never end.

Still letting Antonio massage him, Lovino still let out soft moans every now and again, but this time, not as much as he had before.

And every time Lovino moaned, he heard Antonio chuckle in satisfaction. It told Antonio that he was doing a good job.

"Am I doing a good job?" Antonio asked, leaning forward, slightly.

Still slightly embarrassed, Lovino buried his face in his towel and nodded.

He wondered what they must have looked like to passersby.

God, they must have looked a _sight_!

Pressing himself more into Lovino's back, Antonio massaged Lovino's back more firmly.

And at this, Lovino couldn't stop himself from moaning.

On each cycle of up and down that Antonio's hands were making, Lovino kept letting out small moans, earning a satisfied chuckles from Antonio above him each and every time.

"Wow, Lovi. You must have had _years_ of tension building up in your muscles." Antonio said, working at a spot on Lovino's shoulder blade.

When Antonio pressed down harder, Lovino let out a slightly louder moan, yet still quiet enough for the both of them to hear.

Antonio chuckled again. "Wow, I should start giving you more massages." Antonio said.

Lovino let out another slightly louder moan when Antonio pressed harder and started moving in a circular motion.

'God, this is _so embarrassing_!' Lovino thought to himself.

"You've never had a massage before, have you?" Antonio asked.

"N-Not r-really. I-I mean, not l-like this." Lovino said, trying to stifle back a moan.

"Well, you should get more. I don't think I've _ever_ seen anybody _this_ tense before." Antonio said. "Have you had a stressful life?" Antonio asked, curiously.

"K-Kinda." Lovino said, trying to stifle back another moan.

"Oh." Was all Antonio could say. Not wanting to pry into Lovino's private life, Antonio kept trying to get the tenseness out of Lovino's back.

He figured that Lovino would open up to him, and tell him on his own time, eventually.

But for now, he would just let Lovino get used to him and warm up to him, before he started asking the other any questions.

"I'm glad you came on another date with me." Antonio said. "I feel like I'm getting closer to you and getting to know you better."

Lovino didn't answer, but Antonio had the feeling that Lovino didn't hate him as much as he had like when they had first met.

So he just let the silence speak for itself.

"Ok, there you are! All done!" Antonio said, patting Lovino's back.

And with that, Antonio got off of Lovino's thighs and sat down next to him.

When Lovino finally got up, Antonio saw that his face was still a light pink.

"Wow. So cute." Antonio said.

"Sh-Shut up." Lovino said, still blushing.

"Well, it's _true_!" Antonio said, smiling.

A short silence later, Lovino finally spoke up.

"Th-Thank you." Lovino said, voice barely above a whisper. "I-It felt good."

Antonio beamed. "You're welcome!" he said, happily. "Anytime."

Then suddenly, Antonio got an idea.

"Oh! I know! Lovi, you wanna put some sunscreen on me? Why don't _you_ put some sunscreen on me and give _me_ a massage, huh?" Antonio said, eagerly.

Lovino's eyes widened and his blush faded away, instantly.

"Wh-What?" Lovino asked, taken aback by Antonio's suggestion.

"Yeah!" Antonio said, excitedly. "You can give _me _a massage _too_!"

Lovino just stared at Antonio for a moment and then spoke up again.

"I-I don't think so." Lovino said, looking down.

"What?" Antonio asked. "Why not?"

"B-Because i-it's too weird." Lovino said.

"Huh?" Antonio said. "You didn't think it was weird when I was giving _you_ one."

"Th-That's because you _wanted_ to give me one. I-I didn't ask for one." Lovino said.

"Come on, that's not fair. I gave you one. So, you should give me one too." Antonio pleaded.

"I-I'm sorry, but no." Lovino said, still looking at the ground.

Antonio looked utterly defeated. "O-Ok. I-It's fine…I-I get it." Antonio said, lying down. "Y-You're right. I probably made you too uncomfortable anyway." he said, turning on his side away from Lovino. "I mean, I guess I _did_ force that massage on you…I-I'm sorry. You don't have to give me one if you don't want to."

"S-Sorry, i-it's just too weird for me." Lovino said, lowly.

"No, it's fine. The last thing I wanna do is make you even _more_ uncomfortable around me." Antonio said. "You don't have to apologize."

That emphasis on the 'more' in Antonio statement hurt Lovino. He _knew_ it shouldn't have, but just the _tone_ of Antonio's voice just made it hurt all the worse.

Like it was just _full_ of complete and utter sadness and disappointment.

Lovino then looked down at Antonio who was still lying on his side, facing _away_ from Lovino.

Antonio then rolled onto his stomach,_ still_ facing away from Lovino.

_God,_ Lovino didn't even want to _think_ about what kind of expression was on the other side of Antonio.

It hurt him too much to think about it.

And he _hated_ himself, thinking of how much it must have _hurt_ Antonio to give him a massage and not get one in return.

There was a long while of awkward silence between the both of them.

And Lovino, all the while, was looking at Antonio, to the bottle of sunscreen, to Antonio, to the bottle of sunscreen. And each time he looked between them, he began to feel even _worse_ that he had denied Antonio's suggestion.

He then looked at Antonio again.

He wasn't moving.

He was probably asleep. Yeah, he must have fallen asleep, trying to get through this date as quickly as possible.

'Well, he _did_ put sunscreen on me _and_ massage me…even _if_ I didn't ask for it.' Lovino thought. 'And he _did_ say that he didn't want me to get sunburn. I guess I _can._ I mean, he _did_ do it for _me_.'

Then, finally not being able to take the extreme guilt any longer, Lovino grabbed up the bottle of sunscreen and crawled over to Antonio, heading for his legs.

When he got there, he positioned himself behind Antonio, probably like he did before he started massaging Lovino.

Opening the sunscreen bottle with a '_pop_', Lovino squirted some onto Antonio's leg.

Lovino then started rubbing the sunscreen into Antonio's skin.

At this sudden contact, Antonio rose up and looked behind him to see what was touching him, and saw that it was Lovino rubbing his leg.

"Huh?" Antonio said. "Lovi, I thought I told you that you didn't have to put sunscreen on me."

"N-No. I-It's ok. Really." Lovino said, working the sunscreen into Antonio's skin.

"Come on, Lovi. I know you don't want to do this. You don't have to this, I'll be fine." Antonio said.

"N-No, I told you it's ok." Lovino said, still rubbing the sunscreen onto Antonio's leg. "A-And besides…i-it's _not_ fair. You're right. N-Now, turn around so that I can finish."

"You _really_ don't have to do this if you don't want to. You said it's too weird." Antonio said.

"N-No, I _want_ to do this. So that you feel like you're being treated fairly." Lovino said. "So turn around and let me do this."

And with that, Antonio finally gave up and turned back around on his stomach.

Lovino squirted some more sunscreen on Antonio's leg and started rubbing more in. He started going up and up until he reached Antonio's upper thigh. And when he got there, Antonio giggled.

"Lovi." Antonio called.

"W-What?" Lovino asked.

"You're almost touching my butt." Antonio said, giggling.

Lovino, not noticing where his hands were, looked down, and when he saw where his hands where, he blushed instantly.

There they were, his hands, _just_ under Antonio's butt.

Lovino then gasped, slightly, and snatched his hands away, blushing even redder.

Antonio, feeling the sudden loss of contact, laughed. "Come on." Antonio said. "Why'd you stop? Keep going."

Gathering up his courage to continue, Lovino grabbed up the bottle again and squirted more sunscreen onto Antonio's leg, this time going down towards his foot. After rubbing one leg down, Lovino went to the other one and started putting sunscreen on the other leg as well. And again, as Lovino began rubbing up Antonio's leg, Antonio giggled as Lovino reached his upper thigh.

"O-Oh, grow up!" Lovino said, still blushing.

Lovino then went to massage Antonio's other foot. When he got done with Antonio's legs, there was only one place left to go:

Antonio's back.

So, taking a big gulp, Lovino crawled up behind Antonio and positioned himself down on Antonio's thighs like Antonio did when he massaged him. And if he wasn't blushing a dark red when he was rubbing Antonio's legs, he was now.

Antonio giggled again, and this time, stronger than the last times.

"W-What? What's so funny?" Lovino asked.

Lovino just stared down at Antonio who was positively shaking with laughter. "_Well_?" Lovino demanded.

"T-Try not to get a boner when you're sitting on me like that." Antonio said, after a break in laughter. "I don't want to feel anything poking me back there."

Lovino's face then turned an even darker red.

"O-Oh, Sh-Shut the hell up!" Lovino said, embarrassed.

Antonio then laughed, loudly.

"I-Immature b-bastard." Lovino said, voice low.

And with that, Lovino squirted the cold sunscreen onto Antonio's back.

Antonio jumped, slightly. "_Ooh_, that's cold!"

Lovino then started rubbing the sunscreen into Antonio's back, still blushing at the position that they were in.

Lovino squirted some more sunscreen onto Antonio's back which caused him to jump slightly again.

Lovino rubbed the sunscreen all over Antonio's back and as he got down to Antonio's lower back, Antonio giggled again.

"Ugh, do you_ have _to do that every time I get close to your butt?" Lovino asked, irritably.

"S-Sorry, I just can't help it!" Antonio said.

"Well, stop it. It's not that funny." Lovino said.

"O-Ok…I-I'll try." Antonio said, still having fits of giggles.

Lovino just growled in frustration.

But he continued to massage, regardless.

Lovino then went back up to Antonio's upper back and started rubbing there.

He heard Antonio sigh, contently, underneath him.

Going back down to Antonio's lower back, Antonio giggled, _yet again_.

"_Dammit_!" Lovino yelled. "I thought I told you to _stop_ that!"

Antonio laughed. "I-I'm sorry! I can't help it. It's just that you're so close to my butt, almost touching it. It makes me happy!" Antonio said.

Lovino huffed. "You're gross." Lovino said.

"What?" Antonio protested. "You know, I wanted to do the same thing to you too, but you had swim trunks on, so I had no excuse. Massaging your back was the closest I could get to do it." he said, giggling.

"Ugh, _pervert_!" Lovino growled.

Ignoring Antonio, Lovino went back to work spreading the sunscreen on Antonio's back.

Going back up Antonio's back, Lovino started massaging his shoulders and shoulder blades.

Antonio moaned.

"Oh, Lovi. That feels _good_." Antonio said, voice low with pleasure.

Lovino squirted some more sunscreen onto Antonio's back and rubbed more in.

Antonio let out another pleasure filled moan at Lovino's hands rubbing all over his back.

"This is starting to become a really good date." Antonio said.

Lovino didn't reply.

He just kept working at Antonio's back.

Lovino reached the middle of Antonio's back, and Antonio moaned a bit louder but still low enough so that they could both hear it and not draw any unnecessary attention to themselves.

Lovino started massaging in circular patterns like Antonio had done to him. And also like Antonio, Lovino pressed himself harder into Antonio's back.

Antonio let out another moan, again, a bit louder, as Lovino imitated Antonio's earlier movements.

Lovino just kept rubbing up and down Antonio's back.

He didn't even mind that he got close to Antonio's ass.

And he didn't even care if people were looking at them.

He just wanted to pay Antonio back for his kindness and massaging him even when he didn't even ask for one.

He just kept on massaging his back and listened to the small moans of pleasure escape his mouth.

And every time Antonio moaned in pleasure, Lovino felt his face get hotter and hotter.

_God,_ his face must have been_ so_ red.

And then, again doing what Antonio did, Lovino leaned forward a bit and asked, "A-Am I doing a g-good job?"

"Mmhmm. Y-Yeah." Antonio said, trying to stifle back a moan.

"I-I guess you get more massages than me. Y-You're not v-very tense at all." Lovino said.

"N-No, n-not really. I-I just d-don't have a lot of stress is all." Antonio said, trying to stifle back another moan that threatened to rip out of his throat.

"Th-There." Lovino said. "A-All done!" Lovino said, before finally remembering to pat Antonio on his back like he had done to him earlier.

And with that, Lovino finally rolled off of Antonio's thighs and lay back on the ground, face still red.

"Wow, Lovi." Antonio said, getting up. "That was _good_!"

"Y-Yeah, well. I-I just wanted to pay you back for giving _me_ one. Th-That's all." Lovino said.

"Well, then, thanks! It felt really good." Antonio said, happily.

"Y-Yeah, no problem." Lovino said, shrugging a shoulder.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Antonio asked. "We've still got plenty of time left."

"I don't know…I-I guess I'm kinda hungry." Lovino said.

"Ok!" Antonio said, cheerily. "What do you want?" he said, getting up.

"I don't know. Get a hotdog or a pizza or something." Lovino said.

"Got it!" Antonio said. "Wait here, I'll be back." he said, turning on his heel and walking away.

Lovino sighed. "And just _where_ am I gonna go?" Lovino said to himself.

Then looking over to the direction that Antonio was walking, Lovino stared after him again, and like last time, his eyes found themselves traveling down his body until they stopped on his ass again.

Antonio's hips were swaying back and forth in the black swimwear.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

So skintight.

Lovino felt his face heat up as he couldn't take his eyes away.

It's like he was just so _mesmerized_ by it.

Then coming back to Earth with a stunning force, Lovino shook his head a ripped his gaze away from Antonio.

'_Goddammit_!' Lovino thought, angrily. 'Why do I keep looking at his _ass_?' he asked himself, mentally, not believing that he was just _ogling_ Antonio like some love struck teenage girl.

Lovino just growled in frustration, as he tried to get the vivid picture out of his mind.

Lovino, trying to bring his mind to something else, turned his attention towards the ocean and stared off into the horizon.

He didn't know how much time had passed, until he saw Antonio returning with food in his hands because he was too busy staring off into space.

Lovino blushed again as Antonio got closer because he just couldn't _believe_ that he caught himself staring at Antonio like that again.

"I'm back, Lovi!" Antonio said, returning. "Here, I got us pizza." he said, sitting down.

"Yeah, thanks." Lovino said, still blushing.

"Here." Antonio said, handing the pizza to Lovino. "Oh, and I got us something to drink too."

"Thanks." Lovino said, taking the drink.

Then they both started eating, and Lovino didn't know how hungry he was until he took the first bite.

"Wow, this is really good!" Antonio said.

"Yeah. It's…nice." Lovino said.

After they finished eating, they sat there for a while in comfortable silence.

Until Antonio crawled over in front of Lovino.

"Here, Lovi." Antonio said, taking the bottle of sunscreen in his hand. "Lay back."

"Huh?" Lovino said. "Why?" he asked.

"I'm gonna do your front." Antonio explained. "I couldn't do it since you were lying on your stomach. But now, I can!"

Lovino just blinked at Antonio and turned away, face blushing pink. "N-No, y-you don't have to do that." Lovino stuttered.

"Oh, come on, relax!" Antonio said. "I mean, I don't want you to get sunburned on the front of your body and not your back."

And with that, Antonio squirted the sunscreen onto Lovino's leg.

Lovino would have refused. He _would_ have protested, but Antonio's hands just felt so damn _good_!

So he just lay there, propped up on his elbows, and watched Antonio work the sunscreen into his leg.

Antonio then moved onto Lovino's foot. And when he was done with one leg, he moved onto the other. Squirting more sunscreen on Lovino's other leg; Antonio pressed harder and started rubbing it in. Then finally, Antonio moved on to Lovino's other foot and massaged it, before finishing.

And with that, Antonio crawled up over above Lovino and smiled. "Ok, lay back." he said.

Lovino protested then. "N-No! Y-You don't have to do this!" he said.

"Oh, come on, Lovi." Antonio said. "Just let me do this. Just lie back, and enjoy it."

And with that, Antonio pushed Lovino down onto his back.

Lovino didn't even fight back and he felt his face get hotter and hotter as he let Antonio push him down.

Then, when Lovino was on his back, Antonio settled himself down on Lovino's thighs.

Lovino blushed even _more_, as he looked up at Antonio.

And then getting to work, Antonio squirted some sunscreen onto Lovino's chest.

Lovino gasped, slightly, and jumped as the cool cream landed on his chest.

Then, putting the bottle down, Antonio started rubbing it in.

Lovino could only lay back and watch Antonio rub the sunscreen all over his body with a slight blush on his cheeks.

All over his chest, on his stomach, on his shoulders…and even his nipples.

When Antonio rubbed the sunscreen on Lovino's chest and rubbed over his nipples, Lovino let out a small moan.

And after hearing himself moan like that, Lovino's face blushed even more.

Lovino looked up at Antonio and saw him smiling.

Antonio's hands continued their massage and every time Antonio rubbed over Lovino's nipples, Lovino let out more small moans.

"Wow, Lovi." Antonio said. "Are your nipples really _that_ sensitive?" he asked.

"Sh-Shut up!" Lovino said, utterly embarrassed.

Antonio laughed. "I'm just kidding. You take everything so _seriously_." Antonio said.

Lovino didn't say anything.

He just laid back and tried to enjoy the massage that Antonio was giving him.

_God,_ Lovino _tried_ not thinking about what they must have looked like to other people who may have been watching.

It was just so _embarrassing_ to _think_ about!

"Wow. You look so cute letting me do this to you." Antonio said, happily.

This only made Lovino blush even _more_.

Lovino's brow lowered then. "Sh-Shut up!" Lovino said.

"But it's_ true_!" Antonio said, happily.

Lovino couldn't even utter a response back.

The sheer embarrassment took his voice.

As Lovino felt Antonio's hands rub his torso, he looked up at Antonio, who seemed to be enjoying himself, and turned his head away, still blushing.

After a while, Antonio finally finished his massage.

"There you go!" Antonio said, patting Lovino's stomach. "All done!"

He then climbed off of Lovino, and smiled.

"How was it?" Antonio asked.

"I-it was…nice. I-It felt…good." Lovino said.

"Good!" Antonio said. "Now, how about you do _me_?" Antonio suggested, lying down on his back.

Lovino just stared at Antonio, possibly contemplating whether he should or not.

Then, finally, after a short while, Lovino conceded.

"O-Ok." Lovino said, simply without protest.

Lovino then crawled over in front of Antonio and taking the sunscreen bottle in his hand, squirted the sunscreen into Antonio's leg and began rubbing.

Antonio laughed. "Wow, you're good at this!" Antonio said.

Ignoring the heat on his face, Lovino moved down to Antonio's foot. When he was done, Lovino moved to Antonio's other leg, squirted more sunscreen on, and started massaging. Finishing his leg, Lovino moved down to Antonio's other foot and rubbed more sunscreen into it.

When Lovino finished Antonio's legs, he looked up at Antonio's chest and _dreaded_ what was to come.

He then saw Antonio smiling down at him, knowing what to expect.

So, Lovino, knowing that he couldn't prolong the inevitable, took a deep breath and crawled up over and above Antonio.

Settling himself down onto Antonio's thighs, Lovino stopped for a while as Antonio giggled underneath him.

"Wh-What's so funny?" Lovino asked.

"Nothing." Antonio laughed.

"Y-Yes, there is!" Lovino said. "N-Now tell me!"

Antonio laughed again. "Wow, Lovi. It's just that…you sitting on top of me like this…it's kinda hot." Antonio said, giggling and reaching up to grab Lovino's hips.

Lovino blushed, furiously and swatted Antonio's hands away. "G-Get your hands off of me!" he shouted.

Antonio laughed again. "Geez, Lovi, lighten up!" Antonio said.

"Wh-Whatever." Lovino said.

And with that, Lovino squirted the sunscreen on Antonio's chest and like him, Antonio gasped and jumped a bit at the cold touch.

Lovino then started rubbing the sunscreen into Antonio's skin like Antonio had done to him.

All over his chest, on his stomach, his shoulders, and just like Antonio had done, his nipples too.

When Lovino's hands rubbed over Antonio's nipples, Antonio let out a small moan too.

Feeling proud of himself for making Antonio moan, Lovino continued his massage.

And just like him, whenever Lovino rubbed over Antonio's nipples, Antonio let out more small moans.

"Wow, Lovi. You're so good!" Antonio said.

"Y-Yeah, yeah, I'm flattered." Lovino said, sarcastically.

"No, really!" Antonio said. "I _mean_ it! Yeah, this is _definitely _the _best_ date that I've ever been on!"

Then, ignoring the intense blush on his face, Lovino continued his work.

Almost done with his massage, Lovino squirted sunscreen onto Antonio's chest and rubbed it in.

Antonio just laid back and enjoyed the massage that Lovino was giving him and sighed, contently.

"You know, Lovi." Antonio started. "I thought that you would refuse again. I was kinda scared at what you were gonna say."

Lovino's hands rubbed up and down Antonio's torso.

Then up.

Then down.

Then up.

Then down.

Until finally, after a while, Lovino was finished putting sunscreen on Antonio.

"Th-There." Lovino said, patting Antonio's stomach. "Y-You're all done."

And with that, Lovino rolled off of Antonio and sat down next to him.

Antonio then got up and looked over towards Lovino, and smiled.

"Thanks." Antonio said. "That felt _great_!"

"Y-Yeah." Lovino said. "You're welcome."

"So, what do you want to do now, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

Lovino then paused for a moment, not knowing what to do.

"I-I don't know." Lovino said.

"Oh, I know! Lovi, let's go play!" Antonio said, excitedly.

"Huh?" Lovino said. "B-But where?" Lovino asked.

"_Everywhere_!" Antonio said, spreading his arms out. "It's the beach, remember?"

Lovino just stared at Antonio.

Antonio staring back, quickly got up, and lowered a hand down to Lovino.

But Lovino refused to get up.

"Come on, Lovi, let's go!" Antonio said, reaching down towards Lovino and yanking him up to his feet.

Antonio, then smiling at Lovino, simply turned around and ran towards the ocean. "Race ya!" he called back to Lovino.

And then, Lovino, smiling softly, decided to follow Antonio towards the ocean.

After all, they_ were_ at the beach and it_ was_ a nice day out today.

He figured he should at_ least_ have _some_ fun while they were there.

And so, with that, Lovino ventured out from under the umbrella and out into the warm sun.

Maybe this date won't be so bad, _after_ all.

* * *

Whew! Now_ that_ was one _monster_ of a chapter! See? I _told_ you that there was gonna be another super long chapter! Although, I didn't expect it to be _this_ long! I guess that just shows how much _fun _I had with this chapter! But I'm still happy with it, nonetheless.

P.S. Oh, yeah and by the way. About the sunscreen massage parts. I hope I didn't make them _too_ long! It's just that I got _so _into it, that I didn't even _realize_ that I had made them so _long_! But hopefully, you'll appreciate the length and time that I put into them. So anyway, like I always say, if you have time, please read and review. And look forward to the next chapter! : ).


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hi everyone! Whoo! YES! Finals are finally over! YAY! And to celebrate, QUICK UPDATE! Yay for you! Didn't expect for a quick update did you? I'm finally off for the summer, so updates should come faster than about a week apart like I've been doing earlier. And the sooner I get done with this story, the sooner I can get started on my other stories. And so with that, chapter 6 starts now!

* * *

**Chapter 6**

They did many things on their date, Lovino and Antonio.

Volleyball, building sand castles (which surprised Lovino seeing how playful Antonio was), and playing in the water.

"Hey, Lovi, let's go for a swim!" Antonio said, excitedly.

"U-Um…I-I don't think so." Lovino stuttered.

"Why not?" Antonio asked.

"The water's too cold." Lovino said, lowly.

"Aww, what?" Antonio said, in disbelief. "Seriously?" he asked.

"U-Uh…y-yeah." Lovino said, shuffling his feet.

"Oh, come on, Lovi! You gotta learn how to loosen up!" Antonio chided.

"W-Well it's not _my_ fault the water's so damn cold!" Lovino snapped.

"Well it's _supposed_ to be cold!" Antonio said. "What, were you expecting it to be warm?" he asked, tilting his head.

Lovino narrowed his eyes at Antonio. "I-It's not that…i-it's just…i-it's just that." Lovino stuttered.

"It's just what?" Antonio asked. "Are you scared of the water?"

Lovino's gaze snapped back to Antonio. "N-No, I'm not scared of the water, you idiot!" Lovino yelled.

"Then what is it?" Antonio asked.

"Well." Lovino began. "I-I can get the water just fine, i-it's just…it's just that when I go to get in the water, as soon as it touches my feet, I just freeze up 'cuz it's cold at first touch. And since it takes me a long time get in, it takes me a long time to get used to it. Th-That's why I don't want to get in…th-that's all." Lovino said, looking down at the sand and blushing slightly.

Antonio just stared at Lovino for a while.

Then he smiled, greatly.

"Oh! That's all? Why didn't you just say so, Lovi?" Antonio asked. "Here, come on, let me help you!" Antonio said, taking Lovino's hand and pulling him towards the water.

"Wh-What? Wh-What the h-hell are you doing, you bastard?" Lovino asked.

"I'm taking you to the water!" Antonio said, smiling back at Lovino.

"Wh-What? N-No, I said I don't want to go!" Lovino said.

"Come on, it'll be good for you! It's not so bad once you get used to it!" Antonio said.

"N-No, _dammit_! I-I said I'm not going!" Lovino yelled. "L-Let me go!" he said, snatching his hand away from Antonio.

Antonio, feeling Lovino's hand slip away, turned around to see Lovino walking away, so he ran after him.

"Hey, Lovi, come back!" Antonio said, running after Lovino.

"No, go to hell!" Lovino said, now picking up his pace and running.

"Aww, come on, I just wanna help!" Antonio cried.

"Yeah, well, I don't want any help!" Lovino yelled back.

This continued for a while, Lovino running and Antonio chasing after him, yelling to try and coax him into giving him a chance.

"No, dammit!" Lovino yelled. "How many times do I have to tell you to get it through your thick head?" he asked.

"Come on, please? Just let me help you!" Antonio said.

"I'm not gonna say it again! No means _no_!" Lovino yelled.

Antonio sighed. "Alright. I didn't wanna have to do this, but you forced me." Antonio said, calmly.

"Do what?" Lovino asked himself.

Then, all of a sudden, Lovino felt himself get tackled from behind, and two arms wrap around him.

"Gotcha!" Antonio said, smiling.

"Wh-What? H-How the _hell_ did you catch up to me?" Lovino asked, turning around in Antonio's grip.

"I was holding back!" Antonio said, cheerfully.

W-Wait a minute! Y-You what?" Lovino said, in disbelief.

"I was holding back! I just playing around!" Antonio said.

"S-So, you could have caught me earlier?" Lovino said.

"Yup!" Antonio said. "I said I was just playing around! I could have _easily_ caught you a lot earlier!" Antonio said, proudly.

"Wh-What? So then why the hell did you let me run around all that time?" Lovino yelled, angrily.

Antonio laughed. "I was having too much fun that I forgot! Although, I _was_ gonna catch you, but after seeing how you were really trying to run away, I just thought I'd have a little fun before I did." Antonio said. "Plus, it was to tire you out."

"S-So…you were…humoring me, then?" Lovino asked, panting.

"Yup! Wow, that was really fun, Lovi! We should do that more!" Antonio said, laughing.

"Bastard." Lovino said, lowly.

"Now, come on, let's go!" Antonio said, getting behind Lovino and pushing him towards the water.

"N-No! D-Don't you get it? I don't wanna go!" Lovino yelled.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard it all before." Antonio said.

When they finally got to the water's edge, Lovino started panicking and looking for another direction to run.

'Yeah, that's good!' Lovino thought. 'If I run now, I can cut through that crowd of people, and he'll _never_ catch me!'

Lovino then let out a small chuckle.

Antonio, seeing this, leaned forward next to Lovino's ear and said, "Look, Lovi, it's useless to try and run again. We both know that you can't outrun me. You have nowhere to go."

Lovino scoffed. "Ha, yeah right." Lovino said, lowly.

Pulling back, Antonio looked around his surroundings to assess the situation and then leaned back in again.

"Why, I bet you were planning to cut through that crowd of people, hoping to lose me, weren't you?" Antonio asked, smugly.

And at this, Lovino stopped chuckling and froze up, utterly shocked that his plan had been discovered before it could be executed.

He then turned around with a shocked look on his face to see a very smug looking Antonio.

"Wh-Wha-? H-How did you know?" Lovino asked.

"Easy! I saw where you were looking, and when you started chuckling, it was easy to see what you were planning." Antonio said. "So, really, you gave yourself away." Antonio said, as an afterthought.

"You bastard." Lovino said, lowly.

"Although, if you were to run away again, I would have easily caught you again, anyway." Antonio said. "Plus, I don't think you'd get very far anyway, since I tired you out and all."

Lovino growled in frustration.

"Now, let's go!" Antonio said, pushing Lovino.

But Lovino had his feet anchored in the sand. "You're not getting me in that water, you asshole." Lovino grumbled.

Antonio sighed. "Look, Lovi. We can either do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice." Antonio said.

Lovino scoffed again. "And what's the hard way?" Lovino countered back, harshly.

And at this, Lovino felt himself being swept up off his feet.

"Wh-Wha-?" was all Lovino could say. He then looked up to see that Antonio was carrying him

"The hard way." Antonio began. "Is that I carry you and _throw_ you in the water. _That _way, you'll get used to the water _a lot _faster than just walking in. _Or_ you can just calm down and let me help you." Antonio said.

"You goddamn bastard!" Lovino yelled. "You think I'm just gonna _let_ you carry me and throw me in the water?" Lovino asked. "Let me go and put me down, right now, dammit!"

"You're _really_ gonna make do this, huh, Lovi?" Antonio asked. "Keep refusing and I'll do it. I'm serious." Antonio said.

"No, _fuck_ you, you goddamn bastard!" Lovino yelled, struggling to get out of Antonio's grip. "I said put me down!"

Antonio sighed. "Alright, you made me do this. Don't say I didn't warn you." Antonio said.

And at this, Antonio started walking forward.

"N-No, w-wait!" Lovino said. "S-Stop!"

Antonio didn't say anything and kept walking forward.

Lovino looked down below him and saw that the water was getting higher.

And higher.

And higher.

And every time Antonio took a step, it seemed that the water was getting even higher.

And it was then that Lovino started to panic.

"N-No…S-Stop!" Lovino yelled.

Antonio didn't say anything.

Lovino was getting desperate.

"C-Come on, Antonio! Th-This isn't funny anymore. Stop!" Lovino begged.

Antonio _still_ didn't reply.

Lovino looked below him again and saw the water rushing past Antonio's legs and, oh _God_, did it scare him!

"No, _please_!" Lovino screamed. "Please, _stop_!" Lovino yelled, instinctively, reaching up and wrapping his arms around Antonio's neck. "P-Please stop…I-I don't wanna do this anymore!" Lovino said, burying his face in Antonio's neck.

Antonio looked down and saw that Lovino looked like he was on the verge of tears.

"Aww, Lovi." Antonio soothed. "I didn't wanna do this either. I just wanted to help. But I guess I was pushing you to hard again. Ok, then, let's go back and try again." Antonio said.

And with that, Antonio turned around and started walking back to the water's edge.

He looked down at Lovino and saw that he was still burying his face in his neck.

When they got to the sand, Antonio put Lovino down and, to his shock, Lovino was still holding onto him.

Antonio then wondered, briefly, if Lovino was possibly still scared and if he pushed him too hard.

He certainly didn't want to traumatize the other person.

"Hey…Lovi. We're back now, so just relax, ok?" Antonio said, softly.

Lovino then took his arms from around Antonio and pulled away.

"I'm sorry for doing that to you." Antonio said. "I just wanted to help…you ok?" Antonio asked.

Lovino nodded his head and turned his gaze back towards the churning ocean.

Antonio, noticing Lovino staring at the ocean, got behind him and put his hands on his shoulders and said, "Do you wanna try again?"

Lovino paused for a minute.

Then, hesitantly, he nodded. "Y-Yeah," Lovino said, lowly. "B-But not too fast."

And with that, Antonio started pushing Lovino back towards the water.

"Aright." Antonio said. "I won't."

Step after step after step, they slowly approached the water.

Lovino then suddenly turned his head to Antonio.

Antonio gave Lovino's shoulders a light squeeze. "It's ok, Lovi. You're almost there." Antonio encouraged.

And sure enough, they were.

Just mere feet from the water's edge.

And as soon as they were on the wet part of the sand again, Lovino watched with a pounding heart as the water came closer and closer and closer.

Then, finally, when the next step came, Lovino was met with the cool rushing of water washing over his feet which made his inhale sharply at the cold feeling.

"It's ok, Lovi." Antonio comforted, quickly. "See? You're already touching the water. Just a little bit closer, ok?"

Lovino nodded, despite himself, and continued.

As they got closer, the water reached their knees which almost made Lovino stop in his tracks and not move at all, but Antonio, being behind him, pushed him on.

"Come on, Lovi. See? You're doing such a good job!" Antonio said, proudly.

And at this, Lovino blushed, slightly, at Antonio's praise.

Then, as they got even closer the water reached up to their waists and Lovino gasped every time a swell came in their direction.

And as they walked on, Lovino started making little whimpering sounds every time a wave came and at this, Antonio took his hands from Lovino's shoulders and brought them down to his waist to keep him from being pushed back by the waves.

Whether Lovino was either too scared or he didn't feel it, he didn't swat Antonio's hands away from him.

"Ok, right here should be good. Let's stop here." Antonio said.

Lovino stopped walking then, and looked around.

Here he was, waist deep in the ocean, all with Antonio's help.

It wasn't that bad.

Actually, he didn't even feel any coldness after a while.

Why was he so afraid of getting in the water in the first place?

"Wow, look how far you've gone!" Antonio gushed. "See? Now aren't you glad that I helped you?" Antonio asked.

Lovino could only nod his head and say, lowly, "Y-Yeah."

Antonio then tightened his grip on Lovino's waist. "See? I knew you could do it!" Antonio said, now resting his chin on Lovino's shoulder and squeezing him tighter. "I'm so proud of you, Lovi." Antonio said.

At this, Lovino started blushing like mad at Antonio's further praise.

But he had done it.

He was out here in the ocean.

And it was all thanks to Antonio.

Feeling proud of himself, Lovino couldn't help but smile.

And as he did so, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to lean into Antonio's body (although at this point, Lovino had forgotten that Antonio was behind him, for he was too proud of his achievement to care much about anything else.).

He enjoyed being pressed up against the warm, soft, comforting form behind him, holding him in their embrace; he liked the way that he was being held. It felt good to be held in such a warm, loving way.

And it was with a content chuckle that Lovino was brought back to Earth.

Wondering what that sound was, Lovino turned around to see that it was Antonio holding him, that it was Antonio that he was leaning into, that it was Antonio who had held him in that embrace that he had loved, that it was Antonio who had chuckled.

A horrible flush of red to his cheeks and it was then that Lovino pushed himself from Antonio's grip.

"G-Get off of me, you bastard!" Lovino yelled.

"Wh-What? What's wrong, Lovi?" Antonio asked, confused.

"Y-You were _holding_ me!" Lovino yelled.

"Wh-What's wrong with that?" Antonio asked.

"I never said you _could_!" Lovino yelled.

"You never said I _couldn't _either." Antonio countered back with a smug look on his face.

Lovino blushed even redder.

"Sh-Shut up, you bastard!" Lovino stuttered.

Antonio laughed. "So, then, shall we have fun now?" Antonio asked.

Lovino only grumbled, crossing his arms and still blushing.

"Well?" Antonio said. "Let's go!" he said, taking Lovino's hand.

Lovino and Antonio spent most of the day just playing in the water.

And to his surprise, Lovino found that he was actually having fun, even if he _was_ on yet another date with Antonio.

Needless to say…it was…nice.

To be able to have fun in his otherwise dreary, boring life.

And Antonio was _just _the person to provide Lovino with the thought that if he could still have fun, then maybe…just _maybe_, life couldn't be _all_ bad.

Lovino was too busy having fun when all of a sudden, he heard a splash.

Lovino opened his eyes to see where the splash came from and when he looked around, Antonio was nowhere to be seen.

"Uh…Antonio?" Lovino called.

But Antonio did not answer.

Lovino looked to see if he was on the beach, but he didn't see him.

He then started panicking.

Did he leave him?

"A-Antonio?" Lovino called, but louder this time. "Wh-Where are you?"

Lovino then felt something brush up against his leg and he yelped in surprise.

If Lovino wasn't scared then, he was _definitely _scared now.

Another brush and this time, Lovino was trembling.

His mind then started wandering as he was thinking about what could be brushing up against him.

Lovino then froze.

Oh God, what if it's a shark?

He saw the movies.

A swimmer playing out in the ocean and suddenly, they feel brushing on their legs.

And then, all of a sudden a huge shark comes and eats them.

Just blood everywhere.

Not wanting to take a chance, Lovino scrambled to get out of the water as fast as he could.

He was going to _kill_ Antonio for leaving him in the water with a shark!

However, before he could get any further, something popped up out of the water and Lovino watched in absolute _horror _as the figure rose up higher and higher out of the water.

"HI, LOVI!" Antonio yelled, as he popped up out of the water with a smile on his face.

And at this, Lovino screamed in surprise and covered his eyes.

A loud laugh that he had grown used to subsided his fear and he opened his eyes to see Antonio absolutely _shaking_ with laughter.

"Wh-What's so funny?" Lovino yelled. "There's a fucking shark out here!"

"A shark?" Antonio asked.

"Yes, a shark, you dumbass!" Lovino yelled. "Now let's get the fuck out of here!"

Antonio started laughing again.

He then looked at Lovino to see that he was narrowing his eyes at him.

Antonio stopped laughing then and said, "Oh, wait you're serious…let me laugh even harder!"

And at this, Antonio was doubled over laughing.

"What the _fuck_ are you _laughing _at?" Lovino yelled, irritated.

When Antonio finally got a break in laughter, he finally said, "There's no shark. That was _me_!"

"Wh-What?" Lovino almost shrieked. "That was _you_?"

"Yeah!" Antonio said.

"You fucking bastard!" Lovino yelled. "I thought you were a shark! I thought I was gonna die!"

"Nope! Just me." Antonio said. "But you should have seen the look on your face when you thought I was! You were like, 'ahhhhhhhh!'" Antonio said, waving his arms around.

"Bastard." Lovino said, narrowing his eyes and storming past Antonio, out of the water.

"Aww, come on, Lovi! I didn't mean it. I like to joke around, remember?" Antonio reminded Lovino as he was chasing after him.

"Well, don't scare me like that!" Lovino yelled. "I _hate _your ideas of jokes!"

"Alright, alright, Lovi. I won't scare you like that anymore." Antonio said.

Lovino scoffed. "Yeah, right. _That'll_ be the day." Lovino said, darkly.

"But you gotta admit." Antonio said, catching up to Lovino. "It _was_ fun when we were playing, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess." Lovino said.

"Oh, calm down. Relax, Lovi! You're so uptight!" Antonio said.

Lovino huffed and walked faster.

"So what do you want to do know?" Antonio asked.

"Nothing." Lovino said, simply.

"Aww, what? You don't want to do anything?" Antonio asked.

"Nope." Lovino said.

A short silence.

"Oh, I know! Hey, Lovi! Let's go for a walk on the beach!" Antonio said.

Lovino turned to Antonio then, and looked away, blushing.

"N-No." Lovino said.

"Why not?" Antonio asked.

"B-Because." Lovino began. "I-Isn't that kinda sappy?" he asked.

"What?" Antonio asked. "Of course not!" he said. "Why would you think that?"

"B-Because they always show that in movies. Y-You know, when two people are walking down the beach and they are always holding hands. It's so sappy." Lovino said.

"Well, I don't think it's sappy at all!" Antonio said. "I think it's romantic!"

Lovino blushed even more.

"Come on, let's go!" Antonio said, grabbing Lovino's hand.

"N-No! I-I don't want to." Lovino said.

"Come on, it's just a little walk!" Antonio reasoned. "It won't be so bad."

"Y-Yeah, but-" Lovino began, before he was cut off.

"But what? Come on, Lovi, I'm asking you nicely. I mean, I helped you into the water and I didn't drop you like I said I would. So, the _least_ you could do is to walk down the beach with me." Antonio said.

Lovino paused for a moment as if he was in a mental battle of whether he should or should not.

Then, finally.

"O-Ok. F-Fine…I-I'll go." Lovino said, giving up.

"Good!" Antonio said, pulling Lovino along. "Now, we don't have to hold hands if you don't want to. It'll just be nice to walk alongside you." Antonio said.

Lovino grumbled a response.

"Is that ok?" Antonio said.

"Y-Yeah." Lovino said.

And with that, they started walking down the beach.

Occasionally, Lovino would look out the corner of his eyes to see that Antonio was smiling like always.

"So, are you having fun, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

"Y-Yeah, I-I guess so." Lovino said.

"That's good." Antonio said, wistfully.

As they were walking down the beach, Lovino started blushing even more because he wondered what they looked like to other people.

Did they look like a couple?

Most likely.

And at this thought, Lovino couldn't take the embarrassment any longer and he was about to walk off, when all of a sudden…

"You know, Lovi, I'm having a really good time with you today." Antonio said. "I haven't had _this_ much fun in a long time…I'm really glad you gave me another chance to go on another date with you."

Oh God, Lovino could just _feel _his face heating up.

How is it that Antonio could make him _blush_ so much?

It shouldn't even be _possible_ that any one person could accomplish such a feat.

Just _thinking _about it made Lovino's head hurt!

Time passed and they were still walking down the beach side by side.

Antonio sighed.

"This has been a fun date, Lovi." Antonio said.

Lovino only mumbled a response, too embarrassed to speak.

"I almost don't want it to end." Antonio said, with what could have been sadness.

Lovino looked over at Antonio who seemed to be reluctant to let their date end.

"But!" Antonio began, cheering up. "I guess that means that we can go on another date after this, right?" he asked, eagerly.

Lovino stared at him and was about to say something, but lost his voice.

"Don't worry, Lovi. You don't have to answer now!" Antonio said, putting a hand in the air. "When you get home, just think about it, and we'll go from there, ok?" Antonio asked.

When Lovino found his voice again, all he could utter was a simple, "O-Ok."

So, they continued walking, and as more time passed, the sun started getting lower and lower.

More and more people started leaving the beach.

"You know, Lovi." Antonio began. "Back then, when we were getting in the water and I was carrying you, you wrapped your arms around my neck."

Lovino's gaze snapped right back to Antonio. "Y-Yeah, wh-what about it?" he asked, stuttering.

"Why?" Antonio asked. "Why were you holding me like that?"

"W-Well, th-that's j-just because I was scared!" Lovino said.

"Scared of what, the water?" Antonio asked.

"Wh-What? N-No, I told you I wasn't scared of the water, you asshole!" Lovino yelled.

"Then what was it?" Antonio asked, tilting his head.

"I-It's j-just that…i-it's just…" Lovino stuttered.

"It's just what?" Antonio asked.

"It's just that…I really thought you were gonna throw me in the water. And I wasn't prepared enough. It all happened so fast." Lovino said.

"Well, I really was, but when I saw how scared you were, I stopped." Antonio said.

"But why didn't you stop?" Lovino asked. "Even when I begged you to."

"I just thought that it was just the jitters before you got in." Antonio said. "I didn't know you'd be _that_ scared. I'm sorry."

A long silence as they walked along the edge of the beach.

Then Antonio spoke up again.

"When we got back though." Antonio began. "You were still holding onto me. Like you were doing it for something _other_ than being scared."

"Wh-What?" Lovino said. "N-No! I-It's just 'cuz I was scared! Th-That's _all_! D-Don't get any ideas!" Lovino yelled.

"Yeah, but when we got out there and I was holding you, you didn't even slap my hands away like you would normally do." Antonio said. "In fact, you were _leaning_ into me. Like you didn't even care that I had my arms wrapped around you. And plus, you looked like you were enjoying it."

Lovino blushed then.

"I-I don't know what you talking about." Lovino said, crossing his arms and looking away.

"Yes, you do, Lovi." Antonio pressed on. "And I saw that smile on your face. You _liked_ being held be me." Antonio added, smiling.

"Wh-What? N-No I didn't! I forgot you were there! I was just proud of myself for having made it into the water! That's all! Don't be stupid!" Lovino yelled.

"Look, it's ok if you like me, Lovi." Antonio said. "I like _you_."

Lovino's face blushed a deep red then.

"W-Well, I don't like _you_!" Lovino yelled.

Antonio decided to just leave it at that.

He didn't want to make Lovino feel even _more_ uncomfortable by pressing the matter.

"Well, it's getting late. Shall be go back?" Antonio asked.

"O-Ok." Lovino said.

And with that, they turned around and started heading towards their spot.

And all the while there, Lovino did not dare look at Antonio.

He was too embarrassed, so he just kept his eyes locked on the sand.

When they finally made it back, they were just about the only people on the beach.

"The sun's going down. Come on, I'll take you home." Antonio said.

"O-Ok." Lovino said.

They then started gathering their stuff, and as they were doing so, Antonio looked at Lovino from time to time and saw that he was _still_ blushing.

After they were done packing up, they started heading towards the car.

"Here, let's change first." Antonio said, heading towards the changing room.

Lovino followed after and went to the changing rooms as well.

"See you when we get out." Antonio said, smiling.

"Yeah, ok." Lovino said.

Antonio then closed the door and Lovino walked in the other room.

Lovino was mostly dried off from walking on the beach for a long time, so all he had to do was slip off his swim trunks and just put his clothes back on.

Before he got out, Lovino looked at himself in the mirror to see if anything was out of place.

Satisfied with his inspection, Lovino walked out of the changing room.

And as expected, he was the first one out…_again_.

Lovino groaned. 'Ugh, _again_? What the hell is he doing in there?' Lovino thought.

He then heard the sound of a door opening.

"Hi, Lovi!" Antonio said. "Wow. I guess you got out before me again, huh?" he said, laughing.

"Yeah, yeah, can we go now?" Lovino said, turning around.

And to his relief, Lovino saw that Antonio was wearing normal clothes again and sighed in relief.

Thank _God_!

Lovino didn't know how much more he could take seeing Antonio walking around half-naked.

"Well? Shall we go, then?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah, ok." Lovino said.

Smiling, Antonio walked past Lovino and gathered his stuff.

Lovino followed behind him to the car.

When they got there, Antonio unlocked the car and opened the trunk and put all the things he had taken and put them back in.

Then, he closed it and walked around the side of the car, to the driver's side.

Lovino then opened the passenger door and got in with Antonio.

"Ah, that was fun, wasn't it, Lovi?" Antonio asked, beaming.

"Y-Yeah, I guess so." Lovino said.

And with that, Antonio started up the car, pulled out for the parking lot, and headed for Lovino's house.

"I had a lot of fun today." Antonio said. "I'm glad we got to spend more time together. It was…great. Thanks!"

Lovino blushed and looked out of the window. "Y-Yeah, y-you're welcome." Lovino said.

They spent the rest of the car ride to Lovino's house in peaceful silence.

When they finally got there, Lovino felt glad to finally be back home.

When Antonio pulled up to the curb, he turned the car off.

Lovino got out and, like last time, Antonio got out again.

"W-Wait. Wh-Where are you going?" Lovino asked.

Antonio laughed. "Lovi, we've already been through this. I'm walking you to your door! I said all dates end like this didn't I?" Antonio asked.

"Y-Yeah, whatever. Fine." Lovino said, walking to his door.

Lovino walked up the steps and when he got to the front door, he looked back at Antonio who was still following behind him.

When he finally caught up to Lovino, he smiled, greatly.

Antonio then sighed, contently.

"That was a fun day, Lovi! We should do that again, someday." Antonio said, happily.

Lovino only muttered a, "Hmm."

And with that, Antonio walked back down the steps.

Lovino watched him descend the steps before he finally turned back around.

"So, uh." Antonio began. "I'll see you tomorrow?" Antonio asked, somewhat hesitant. "We can go somewhere else fun, ok?"

Lovino could only look down at him and blush.

'Why does he keep trying?' Lovino thought, asking himself.

And after a short pause, Lovino just looked down at him and said, "M-Maybe. I-I'll have to think about it."

Lovino couldn't stop himself from blushing.

Antonio smiled then, because the blush on Lovino's face told him that yes, he _would_ indeed see Lovino tomorrow.

And they stayed like that for a while, Lovino staring at the ground blushing and shuffling his feet and Antonio just staring up at him, fondly.

"Well." Antonio began. "I'd better go now. It's starting to get late."

"O-Ok, then." Lovino said.

And then, finally, Antonio turned around and headed towards his car.

When he got to the driver's side, he looked up at Lovino and smiled.

"Goodnight, Lovi." Antonio said.

"G-Goodnight." Lovino stuttered.

And with that, Antonio got in the car and Lovino walked in his house and closed the door behind him.

When he was fully in the house, Lovino leaned against the door and buried his face in his hands in embarrassment.

Then a few minutes later, he heard Antonio start up his car and pull off.

Once Lovino was sure that he was gone, he pushed himself up off the door and walked forward.

He walked forward until he heard a voice.

"Oh, Luddy, it was so much fun spending the day with you today!" Feliciano said, from the living room. "I had a great time!"

Lovino walked around the corner into the living room to see Feliciano huddled up in Ludwig's arms.

And for some reason, he didn't even feel the urge to snatch Feliciano away from that damn German.

Lovino didn't know why.

Maybe he was too tired.

Then, Feliciano, noticing that Lovino was standing in the threshold, greeted him happily.

"Oh, hey, Lovino, where were you?" Feliciano asked, curiously.

"Out." Lovino said, simply.

"Oh." Feliciano said, shoulders slumping in sadness, thinking that Lovino would finally open up to him.

And Lovino, seeing this, quickly amended, "U-Uh, I-I mean…I-I was out…w-with friends." Lovino said, stuttering.

And at this, Feliciano instantly perked up. "Oh, ok. That's nice!" he said, smiling.

"Yeah." Lovino said, simply.

"Come on, Lovino! Come sit with us." Feliciano said.

"Yeah, ok." Lovino said.

And with that, Lovino walked over and plopped himself down on the couch.

Feliciano then huddled back up under Ludwig and gave a contented sigh.

"Oh, Lovino, you should have been there!" Feliciano began. "Oh, we went _everywhere_! To the park, to the movies, to a nice restaurant, and even to the _museum_!" Feliciano said. "Although the museum was a bit boring, but it was still fun to the look at the pretty pictures and sculptures with Luddy!" he added, as an afterthought.

"Yeah, that's great." Lovino said, sarcastically.

"Yeah, isn't it?" Feliciano cried. "Oh, Luddy, you sure do know what I like!" Feliciano said, squeezing Ludwig.

Ludwig chuckled. "Well, I _have_ to!" Ludwig said. "How can I be a good boyfriend if I don't know what you like?" he asked.

Feliciano giggled. "Well, you know what _else_ I like?" Feliciano asked.

"What's that?" Ludwig asked.

"_You_." Feliciano said, coyly.

Ludwig chuckled and pulled Feliciano closer to him.

"Oh, ja?" he asked.

"Yeah." Feliciano said.

"Und do you know what _I _like?" Ludwig said.

"What's that?" Feliciano asked.

Ludwig then smiled and whispered something into Feliciano's ear.

Lovino couldn't tell what Ludwig was saying, but by the look on Feliciano's face, he could tell that it was, no doubt, something sexual.

Feliciano gasped, loudly.

"Oh, Luddy, that is _not_ appropriate! You're a _bad_ boy!" Feliciano said, giggling.

Ludwig then chuckled, seductively.

"Und do you know what I know what _you_ like?" Ludwig asked.

"And what's that?" Feliciano said, giggling.

Ludwig then started whispering into Feliciano's ear again.

And Lovino knew that it was something even _more_ sexual, judging from the way that Feliciano was blushing.

Feliciano then gasped again.

"Oh, Luddy!" Feliciano said. "You're so _naughty_!" he said, blushing a dark red.

Ludwig chuckled again. "Only for you." Ludwig said, lowly.

And it was then, that he pulled Feliciano in tightly for a kiss.

Feliciano let himself be pulled into the kiss and moaned when Ludwig tilted his head and pressed his tongue into his mouth.

After a while of kissing later, Ludwig then pulled away and started kissing Feliciano's neck and nibbling, then licking, then sucking.

Feliciano started giggling again. "_Ah_! St-Stop, Luddy! Th-That tickles!" Feliciano said.

But Ludwig just smiled against Feliciano's skin and kept going.

Lovino just stared at them, temper growing.

They were in their own little world.

And they had forgotten _all_ about him.

That is, until Feliciano opened his eyes.

Feliciano giggled. "Stop, Luddy! You keep tickling me!"

Feliciano then opened his eyes and saw Lovino staring at them with a murderous look on his face.

"W-Wait, Luddy! N-Not in front of Lovino! P-Please!" Feliciano said, trying to pull away from Ludwig.

When Ludwig pulled back, he too saw Lovino's angry expression.

"S-Sorry, Lovino." Feliciano said, looking down at the floor.

"J-Ja, s-sorry. I guess we…got a little carried away." Ludwig said.

Lovino huffed and crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at the both of them.

Ludwig, sensing the tension in the atmosphere, spoke up.

"W-Well, I-I think I should be leaving now." Ludwig said, getting up.

Feliciano didn't even beg Ludwig to stay like he would usually do, but instead, he agreed with him.

"Y-Yeah. R-Right. O-Ok, goodnight. I-I'll see you tomorrow, ok?" Feliciano said.

"Uh, J-Ja. Goodnight." Ludwig said.

Feliciano then rushed Ludwig out of the house in fear that Lovino would try to do something.

Feliciano then closed the door and leaned against it, in relief.

"S-So, Lovino." Feliciano said, walking back into the living room. "Sh-Shall we go to bed now?"

Lovino just stared at Feliciano and got up off of the couch and just walked pass him. "Sure." Lovino said.

Sighing in relief, Feliciano smiled and followed behind him.

When they walked into their room, the taking off of clothes later, they were in the bathroom, getting ready for the night.

When they were done in the bathroom, they walked out and Lovino flipped off the light switch.

Then, climbing into bed, they just laid there for a while in awkward silence.

"U-Uh, L-Lovino?" Feliciano called, breaking the silence.

"What?" Lovino answered back.

"I-I'm sorry about earlier." Feliciano apologized.

"Whatever." Lovino said.

"You're not mad at me, are you?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino sighed, saying, "No, I'm not."

"A-Are you sure?" Feliciano asked. "Y-You sound mad."

"No, I'm not mad. Just forget about it, ok?" Lovino said. "I'm fine."

"W-Well, ok, then. Goodnight, Lovino." Feliciano said, lying down.

"Yeah, yeah, goodnight, Feliciano." Lovino said, turning over.

Feliciano then turned over and went to sleep.

Lovino turned over and just looked at him.

Just watching him.

Even though Feliciano was annoying at times, Lovino didn't like to see Feliciano sad or upset.

Maybe it was just a big brother feeling that he had.

It had always been that way for as long as he could remember.

Sure, he got mad at Feliciano sometimes for being an idiot.

But for some reason, he just couldn't stay mad at him.

Probably because of his innocent, child-like demeanor.

Or maybe just his desire to get closer to Lovino.

Despite how much Lovino rejected his offerings of spending time with him and that damn German and trying to get Lovino to talk to him.

He remembered Feliciano telling him that if he ever had a problem, he could come and talk to him about it.

But knowing Lovino, he probably wouldn't be doing that anytime soon.

Maybe it was a pride thing.

"_I'm_ the big brother." Lovino said. "You should be coming to _me_ whenever you have a problem. Not the other way around."

Or maybe it was just a big brother feeling that compelled him to be more watchful over his little brother.

Lovino didn't know.

All he knew was that he just wanted to see Feliciano happy.

And _without_ that damn German.

Then they could_ both_ be happy.

Just having each other in their lives like brothers should.

Yes, that would be perfect.

Just perfect.

But at any rate.

Lovino wasn't mad.

Or at least he was _too_ mad.

He wasn't as mad as he would have normally been.

But his mind was too occupied to worry about being mad right now.

No, he had much bigger things to think about.

Such as what to do about Antonio.

'Why does he _like_ me so much?' Lovino thought. 'I'm nothing special.'

'I like _you_.'

Lovino growled as the thought crossed his mind.

"W-Well, I don't like _you_, you bastard." Lovino said, darkly.

'You were still holding onto me. Like you were doing it for something _other_ than being scared.'

Lovino gripped his pillow then.

"I-I was _not_." Lovino whispered, blushing. "I-I was just scared was all. Stupid bastard…thinking I was holding onto him because I _wanted_ to."

'In fact, you were _leaning _into me. Like you didn't even care that I had my arms wrapped around you.'

"F-Fuck you. I forgot you were there…don't think I was doing because I _liked _you. I was just proud of myself." Lovino said.

'And plus, you looked like you were enjoying it.'

"No, I _wasn't _enjoying it." Lovino said, getting irritated.

'You _liked_ being held be me.'

Lovino then growled in anger.

"Shut up, you fucking bastard, no, I _didn't_." Lovino said, through clenched teeth.

Lovino then tried to calm down.

It was no use getting angry now.

He had to worry about what he would to tomorrow.

He was wondering what they were going to do tomorrow.

_If_ they were going to do anything tomorrow.

Lovino then wondered what kind of pitiful strategy Antonio would implement next to ask him out on another date.

"Probably another 'please'." Lovino said, irritatedly.

He then remembered the first time that Antonio asked him out like that and then the next time when he was about to.

"Stupid idiot." Lovino said, smiling softly at Antonio's childish actions.

From then, until he started getting tired, Lovino's mind raced, wondering what they would do tomorrow and if they would have as much fun as they did today.

Who knows?

Then the last thing Lovino heard before he finally fell asleep was Feliciano's soft snores coming from behind him.

Yes, maybe tomorrow would be a good day.

And with that, Lovino finally fell asleep.

* * *

Aww, now wasn't that cute? Looks like Lovino's finally starting to warm up to Antonio. But, however, it still looks like he's in denial. But hopefully, Antonio can fix that.

P.S. I know this may be a short chapter but this was just the second part of the date. There will be longer chapters than this later on. And also, by the way, don't quote me on saying that chapters should come faster since I'm out of school because I'm not really sure how I'm going to write over the summer, now that I'll be back home. After all, my family doesn't know I write stories and I'd like to keep it that way. lol, they might think I'm weird. So for right now, I guess I'll just have to sneak around and write when I get the chance. But don't worry, I won't disappear, it's just that I'm finding time to write. But aside from that, please read and review like I always say and look forward to the next chapter as I always say! = ).


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Hello again everyone! Well, looks like the next chapter is finally here! Sorry for the super long gap in-between the last update and this one. Hopefully, it won't happen too much, but try not to get your hopes up. So to make up for it, SUPER, MEGA, ULTRA, LONG chapter ahead! But other than that, I'm happy to release this chapter. I had a lot of fun with this one =).

**roseprincess546 **: Thank you so much! I watched the video and damn you, it made me cry! It was so cute! And I'll think about it. I can definitely see it in my story, but I just don't know what I'm gonna do with it yet. But don't worry, I'll figure something out. And don't worry about seeming rude or pushy. I'm always up for suggestions from people!

**Rhee-chan **: Thank you! It makes me so happy that people like my story! To be honest, I was kinda hesitant to start this story because I thought people wouldn't like it, but you and all the others proved me wrong. So I thank you and everybody else who are leaving positive reviews. They make me happy =).

And with that, chapter 7 starts now!

* * *

**Chapter 7**

'But _everybody_ is supposed to be half-naked at the beach, Lovi.'

'Yeah, but you don't have to wear _that_!'

'Oh, ok, I get it. If you say so, Lovi.'

'Yeah, thanks. Just don't wear them anymore.'

'Ok…I'll just take them _off _then. Would you like that?'

'W-What? N-No, don't!'

_Beep, beep, beep._

_Beep, beep, beep._

"Ahhhh!" Lovino woke up with a scream.

Lovino opened his eyes and gasped before looking around the room in a panic.

When Lovino realized that he was in his room, he relaxed.

"Phew!" Lovino sighed, in relief. "That was horrible."

Remembering his dream, Lovino felt his face heating up, horribly.

"Ohhhh." Lovino groaned, covering his face with a hand. "Oh, my God. Why did I dream that?" Lovino asked, still blushing a bright red.

Lovino got out of bed and decided to go to the bathroom to get ready for the day (and to cool off from the semi-erotic dream he just had) since he couldn't possibly go back to sleep.

After Lovino got done drying his face off (with cold water to cool off), he headed out of the bathroom and back into his room.

Seeing that Feliciano wasn't in bed, (again) Lovino walked out of the room and down the stairs.

As he was walking down the stairs, Lovino started blushing again.

"I-I mean, i-it's not like I actually _wanted_ to see him naked." Lovino said, trying to rationalize. "I-It just _happened_, th-that's all."

When Lovino got downstairs, he didn't hear anything.

All he heard was silence.

Just silence.

"Feliciano?" Lovino called.

No answer.

"What?" Lovino asked. "No Feliciano?"

And Lovino knew that if Feliciano wasn't here, then that _bastard_ wasn't here, either.

"Huh. No bastard either." Lovino said, to himself. "What the hell? Where the hell are they? Where the _hell_ did he take my brother?" Lovino asked, angrily, figuring that that bastard took Feliciano off to some unknown place.

Walking towards the kitchen, Lovino didn't see anybody.

When Lovino finally got to the kitchen, he stopped at the threshold and started looking around.

As he was looking around, Lovino _still_ didn't see anything, that is, until his eyes finally came to a rest on something that looked like a note on the cabinet.

"Huh? What the hell?" Lovino asked, as he started walking towards the paper.

When he got there, Lovino reached up, grabbed up the note and started reading it.

Judging from the very neat handwriting, Lovino suspected that it was Feliciano who had wrote,

_Dear Lovino,  
Luddy is taking me somewhere special and I don't know where it is because he won't tell me, no matter how much I ask him. He keeps telling me to not worry about it and that I should enjoy it. I'm so excited! Even though, I don't know where it is yet. He's so good to me! But anyway, besides all that, since you were still sleeping, I decided to make you some breakfast since I didn't want to wake you up. You just looked so…peaceful. And…happy. Something that I haven't seen in a very long time and I thought it would be just terrible to disturb you since I haven't seen you like that in forever. Whatever is making you feel that way, I'm so glad that you finally found something to make you happy and I hope it keeps you like that. But anyway, I gotta go now, I hope you enjoy the breakfast I made you! See you later!  
-Feliciano_

After he was done reading, Lovino just stared at the message in his hand for a while.

"I looked…peaceful…and…happy?" Lovino asked. "I finally found something to make me happy?"

Lovino thought about it for a moment.

Then all of a sudden, Lovino felt a searing heat on his face, as he started blushing a furious red.

"Wh-What?" Lovino almost screeched. "I-I…H-He doesn't make me _happy_!" Lovino yelled. "St-Stupid Feliciano. He doesn't even know what he's talking about."

Putting the note back down, Lovino turned his head to the side and saw the breakfast that Feliciano made for him.

Walking over to the plate, Lovino saw the food that Feliciano made for him.

Pancakes, eggs, bacon, and sausage.

All fashioned in the image of a smiley face.

Lovino narrowed his eyes down at the food.

"Stupid Feliciano." Lovino said, lowly. "This is _just_ like you."

And Lovino could _swear_ that he heard Feliciano's idiotic giggling in his ear.

So, finally giving a big sigh, Lovino picked up the food, poured himself a big glass of cold orange juice, and walked back towards the table and sat down.

Lovino stared down at the food for a while, ignoring the face staring right back up at him and started eating.

"Thanks, Feliciano…I guess." Lovino muttered, as he was taking the first bite.

It was good.

_Really _good.

"Well…he _is _a good cook." Lovino said, to himself.

While Lovino was eating, his mind drifted back to Antonio.

But more specifically, the dream Antonio.

'Ok…I'll just take them _off _then. Would you like that?'

Lovino then blushed a bright red again and shook his head to push the image away.

Lovino growled, angrily.

"Oh, my God. I can't believe I dreamt about him _stripping_!" Lovino said. "Good thing I woke up before…before…" Lovino then blushed a darker red. "N-Nevermind! F-Forget it!" Lovino told himself, trying to forget about Antonio almost stripping and seeing him completely naked.

Another thing that crossed Lovino's mind was what Antonio wanted to do today, if he saw him.

'I'll see you tomorrow? We can go somewhere else fun, ok?'

Lovino paused at that statement.

"But…where?" Lovino asked. "Where else could we possibly go that's fun?" Lovino asked, absentmindedly.

Forgetting about Antonio and his plans for going to other fun places, Lovino went back to eating.

When he was finally done, Lovino just sat there, thinking.

Possibly contemplating if he should go to see Antonio again.

"Well…he _did_ sound hopeful. Like he _wanted_ to see me again." Lovino said, trying to justify going to see Antonio again. "I mean…I don't want to_ upset _him. U-Uh, i-it's _only_ because I don't want him to be sad. That's _all_! I-I'm not doing this for _him_! I'm doing this because I _want_ to!" Lovino yelled, blushing, but failing horribly at trying not to.

Finally calming down, Lovino sat there for a while, before getting up out of his seat and walking over to the sink to wash his plate.

After Lovino got done washing his plate, (which didn't take very long) he looked up at the clock on the wall.

It was 11 o'clock.

"Well…" Lovino said, to himself. "At least I don't have to wait for Feliciano and that stupid German bastard to leave before me so I can go today."

And so with that, Lovino put his plate away and walked towards the door.

Grabbing up the keys, Lovino headed towards the front door and walked out of the house.

Once he got outside, Lovino closed the door behind him and started walking down the street to the forest.

A short while later, Lovino was at the edge of the forest, making his way through the bushes.

For some reason it didn't take very long to make his way through the forest, probably because Lovino's mind was too preoccupied with Antonio and the day's activities which he was sure that were to come.

What was supposed to be about a ten minute walk, seemed like only minutes before Lovino reached the clearing.

Expecting that Antonio wasn't there and that he would have to wait for him, Lovino decided to just sit and pass the time before Antonio showed up.

Again, a short while later, (probably due to Lovino's wandering thoughts distracting him) Antonio started making his way out of the woods.

"Hi, Lovi!" Antonio said, with a smile as he started making his way closer.

Lovino looked over at Antonio then. 'Why does it seem like I always get here before him?' Lovino thought, as Antonio got ever closer.

"I didn't think you'd be here this early. You always seem to get here before me." Antonio said, stopping next to Lovino.

Lovino looked up from his sitting position and said, "Well, maybe that's because you're a lazy bastard."

Antonio laughed. "Yeah, maybe. I _am_ a very carefree and happy person!" he said, sitting down.

Lovino watched him sit down next to him and narrowed his eyes as Antonio inched closer to him.

"What are you doing?" Lovino asked.

"Sitting next to you, of course!" Antonio chirped, loudly.

"Why?" Lovino asked.

"Because!" Antonio said, throwing his arms around Lovino. "I like you!"

"Hey! W-Will you let go of me, already?" Lovino asked. "And I already said that I don't like you!"

"Huh?" Antonio asked, still keeping his arms around Lovino. "You didn't have any problems with me hugging you yesterday." he pointed out.

Lovino's face blushed a deep red then. "Wh-What? I-I told you that I forgot you were there, you bastard!" Lovino yelled, struggling.

"Aww, you're so cute, Lovi!" Antonio said, rubbing his cheek against Lovino's.

Lovino growled in anger.

"Get _off_ of me!" Lovino yelled, trying to push Antonio off of him, but to no avail.

"Aww, ok." Antonio conceded, taking his arms from around Lovino.

Lovino growled again and inched away from Antonio.

"So." Antonio began. "Yesterday was fun, huh? Did you have fun, Lovi?" he asked.

"Yeah…I _guess_." Lovino said, lowly.

"_And_." Antonio added. "You got to see me almost fully naked! What a treat for you, huh?" he asked, smiling brightly.

Lovino looked back at him with a shocked expression. "Oh, _don't _flatter yourself, you asshole! I was _not_ looking at you like that!" Lovino yelled, crossing his arms, despite having just absolutely _stared_ at Antonio's ass yesterday.

And remembering that he was, Lovino blushed a dark red.

Antonio chuckled. "So, did you have any _dreams_ about me last night, Lovi?" Antonio asked, leaning towards Lovino.

Lovino then remembered Antonio about to strip down in his dream and blushed even more and vehemently retorted, loudly, "What? _Hell_ no, you goddamn perverted bastard!"

Antonio laughed then. "So then why are you blushing so much, Lovi?" Antonio asked, coyly. "Is there something you're not _telling_ me?"

"N-No! Fuck you! Not _everybody_ who goes out on a date with you has a dream about you the same night, you cocky asshole!" Lovino yelled, trying to push the dream from his thoughts.

"Ok, Lovi, whatever you say." Antonio said, putting his hands up in surrender. "I mean, I practically gave you _gold_ material to dream about." he said, smugly.

Lovino scoffed. "Whatever. W-Well it must not have been gold to me if I didn't dream about you." Lovino said, lowly.

Antonio sighed, wistfully. "You're so cute when you're mad, Lovi."

Lovino scoffed again and fell silent, not wanting to engage in a conversation with Antonio.

A short while of silence between them.

"So, Lovi." Antonio began. "Where do you want to go today?" he asked, curiously.

Lovino shrugged. "I don't know." he said. "You're the one always picking places. I just go _with_ you." Lovino muttered.

"Good!" Antonio said, loudly, making Lovino jump in surprise. "I was _hoping_ you'd say that!"

"What?" Lovino asked. "Why?"

"Because I have a _great _day planned out for us. It's gonna be so fun!" Antonio said, happily.

"What? Like where?" Lovino asked.

"Let's go to the movies!" Antonio said.

"What?" Lovino asked. "The movies?"

"Yeah!" Antonio cheered. "I heard that there's this new movie that came out today! _Everybody _loves it!"

Lovino blinked. "Well, what is it about?" he asked.

"I don't know." Antonio said. "But I heard it's really popular! Wanna go?" he asked, eagerly.

Lovino paused for a moment in thought. "I, uh…_guess_ so." Lovino said, hesitantly. "I mean, I don't have anything _else _to do."

"Great!" Antonio said, loudly. "It's a _date_!"

Lovino cringed at the word 'date'.

Great.

Just fucking great.

That bastard got him to agree to yet _another _date.

Oh well.

It's all done now.

Might as well enjoy it.

"Ok…fine." Lovino said.

"Good! I'll pick you up when I get to your house!" Antonio said. "Go! Go! Go get ready, and I'll be there soon!" he said, eagerly.

"Ok, ok, fine! Why are you so excited?" Lovino asked.

"Because we're gonna have so much _fun_, Lovi!" Antonio said, happily.

Lovino grumbled a response and got up and started dusting himself off.

As he was dusting off, Lovino felt a hand slap his butt, trying to get the dirt and grass off.

Feeling this, Lovino whipped around and saw Antonio smiling up at him.

"Wh-What the hell are you doing, you bastard?" Lovino asked, yelling.

"I'm helping you clean up!" Antonio said.

"Well, you didn't have to touch my _ass_!" Lovino yelled, blushing.

"Aww, but why not, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

"Because we're not _together_ like that, you asshole!" Lovino yelled.

Antonio laughed. "Wow, you have a nice butt, Lovi." Antonio said. "So soft. That was my chance to touch it since I couldn't yesterday."

Lovino then felt a searing heat on his face as his blush intensified.

Then, growling, Lovino turned around and stomped over towards the edge of the forest.

"Fuck off, you bastard." Lovino said, darkly.

Lovino then heard Antonio give a satisfied sigh from behind him.

"See ya later, Lovi!" Antonio called after Lovino. "You're gonna have a lot of fun, I promise!"

"Yeah, I _bet_!" Lovino yelled back, angrily. "Just don't be late, you got that?"

And with that, Lovino turned around and set off back through the woods.

As Lovino was walking through the forest, he still felt that familiar heat on his face.

"Stupid bastard." Lovino said, to himself. "Who the _hell_ does he think is, touching my ass like that?"

And as he was walking, Lovino still felt Antonio's hand on his ass.

Like there was a lingering tingling sensation where his hand was touching.

And then, finally not being able to take the invading feeling any longer, Lovino reached down and placed his hands on his ass in a protective manner and blushed, slightly.

Lovino then growled in frustration, muttering, "Stupid perverted asshole."

Lovino continued walking through the forest with his hands covering his ass, trying to stop that tingling feeling for a short while before he was finally comfortable again.

When the feeling of Antonio's hand finally died down, Lovino finally took his hands away and let them fall to his sides.

And as he did so, Lovino finally reached the end of the forest and into the city.

Sticking his hands in his pockets, Lovino continued walking down the street towards his house.

'Because I have a _great _day planned out for us. It's gonna be so fun!'

"Yeah, we'll see about that." Lovino said, to himself.

When Lovino got to his front door, he paused for a minute.

"Wait a minute. Did I just…_agree_ to go on a _date_ with him?" Lovino asked. "_Without_ declining? Oh, God. What is _happening_ to me?" Lovino asked, putting a hand on his face in embarrassment.

And then, finally giving a big sigh, Lovino put the key in the door and unlocked it, letting himself in.

When he got inside, Lovino closed the front door, staggered over into the living room and plopped himself down on the couch, waiting for Antonio.

A short while passed as Lovino relaxed on the couch.

Lovino didn't even have to wait very long until hear heard a knock on his door.

Lovino got up and walked over to the front door. "That must be him."

And sure enough, it was.

A very happy Antonio on the other side of the door.

"Hi, Lovi! You ready to go?" Antonio asked, excitedly.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go." Lovino muttered, grabbing up his keys off of the table next to the front door.

Antonio smiled and started walking back down the porch as Lovino closed the door behind him and followed.

When they finally got to the car, Lovino opened up the door and got in.

Antonio got in after Lovino and smiled.

"So, you rea-" Antonio said, before he was cut off by Lovino.

"Shut up and drive." Lovino interjected, before Antonio could finish.

"What's wrong, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

"Nothing." Lovino replied, curtly.

"What, are you still mad from earlier?" Antonio asked.

"Ugh, whatever, forget about it and let's just go." Lovino said, sharply.

"Ok." Antonio said, happily, seeming to be unfazed by Lovino's negative attitude.

And with that, Antonio started the car up and pulled off down the street.

Lovino looked out of the window and watched the scenery pass by, trying to forget about Antonio and his impulsive actions from earlier in the day.

Lovino looked over to Antonio, who was still smiling cheerfully, seeming to forget about the incident and carrying on as if nothing ever happened.

'Stupid idiot bastard' Lovino thought.

Lovino turned his attention back towards the window so that Antonio wouldn't see him looking and sighed.

A short while later, they were coming up on the movie theater.

Lovino had only been there a few times before; most movies never interested him anyway.

Plus, he never really had anyone to go with anymore anyway, ever since Feliciano started dating that damn German.

They used to go all the time only because Feliciano would beg to go see a movie that he wanted to see for a long time and Lovino would humor him and go.

And even though he would act like he didn't want to go, he would always go with Feliciano just to see him smile with excitement.

Feliciano, always child-like and innocent.

Lovino never would have thought he would ever go back especially as a date, so it was a real surprise that Antonio asked him if he wanted to go.

A few minutes later, they were in the parking lot, pulling into a parking space (after searching for one, seeing as it was packed.)

Getting out of the car, they began walking towards the ticket booth to a forming line.

As they got in line, Lovino looked over to Antonio who was looking up at the screen above the booth to see what was playing.

"So, do you know what the name of the movie was?" Lovino asked, apathetically.

"Umm. I'm trying to figure that out." Antonio said, cocking his head to the side.

Lovino gave annoyed sigh. "Really? You wanted to see a movie, but you forgot what it was?" Lovino asked.

"Wait. Just give me a second, don't worry." Antonio said.

"I'm not worrying." Lovino said.

"Umm, I think it's supposed to be a scary movie." Antonio said, quietly to himself.

Lovino's ears perked up then.

"Wait, what? A scary movie?" Lovino said, apprehensively.

"Yeah!" Antonio said. "Why?"

"N-Nothing. J-just curious." Lovino stuttered.

Oh no.

Oh, God no.

Of all the movie genres, it _had_ to be a _scary_ movie?

Oh, what the fuck?

Lovino _hated_ scary movies.

_Hated_ scary movies with a_ passion_.

Those scenes with the suspenseful music and then all of a sudden, a loud note, and a killer or a monster pops out, scaring the crap out of everyone.

God, it was too much for Lovino.

And it was with a shaky step forward that Lovino and Antonio inched closer and closer to the booth.

"Aha!" Antonio said, loudly, scaring Lovino and making him jump.

"Wh-What?" Lovino said, shakily.

"I found it!" Antonio said, smiling cheerfully at Lovino.

"O-Oh. Th-That's good." Lovino replied.

"Huh? What's wrong, Lovi? Are you ok?" Antonio asked, concern in his voice.

"Y-Yeah, I-I'm ok." Lovino said, trying to smile, despite himself.

"Really? You look scared." Antonio said.

"I-I'm not s-scared. Pay attention." Lovino said, pointing to the empty space between them and the ticket booth. "J-Just h-hurry up and pick the movie." Lovino snapped.

"Ok!" Antonio said, walking forward.

Lovino fell in beside Antonio and waited for his ticket.

After they were given the tickets, Lovino and Antonio walked into the theater lobby.

"So, Lovi, the movie doesn't start until one-thirty. What do you want to do? We got twenty minutes." Antonio said.

"I don't know." Lovino said, shrugging his shoulders.

Antonio made a thoughtful hum.

"Well." Antonio started. "Why don't we just go get snacks in line? By the time we're done, the movie should be close to starting.

Lovino shrugged his shoulders, again and said, "Ok."

And with that, they got in line.

They got the typical movie going snacks: popcorn, candy, soda, and ice cream.

When they finally paid for their stuff, they made their way to the theater room where they would see the movie.

Lovino followed behind Antonio, hesitantly, perhaps thinking if he should just ditch him and sneak into another movie.

But that would ruin the whole date and Antonio would only end up getting hurt because of Lovino's selfish actions.

So, ignoring his instincts, Lovino continued to follow behind Antonio.

When they got to the theater, Antonio opened the door for Lovino with a smile, allowing him to go through.

Lovino didn't even bother to tell Antonio that he didn't have to open doors for him all the time because he knew that Antonio would only say that he wanted to.

So, ignoring his thoughts, Lovino walked forward, muttering, "thanks." as he went by.

Antonio smiled and said, "No problem, Lovi." as he walked behind him.

When they sat down in their seats, Lovino watched the pre-movie commercials, dreading the movie that was to come.

He looked over to Antonio who was still smiling, obviously excited that Lovino had agreed to go on another date with him.

Lovino then looked all around him to see that the theater was almost full with chattering people.

Lovino let out a shaky sigh as he turned back around.

Just then, the lights overheard starting dimming, signaling the movie previews before the movie started.

'Oh, God. It's almost here.' Lovino thought.

Some of the movie previews were funny and everybody was laughing, so Lovino at least tried to take solace in that.

He at least wanted a good laugh before he was scared out of his mind.

A short while later, the overhead lights went out, signaling the start of the movie.

Lovino let out a small whimper.

"It's starting, Lovi!" Antonio said, excitedly.

"I-I know that! I-I'm not stupid!" Lovino snapped back.

Lovino squirmed uncomfortably in his seat as the starting credits appeared.

A sudden scream made Lovino jump.

The camera panned to a girl running away from something.

She hid behind a corner for a while, before she turned around, and there towering above her was a man in a mask.

Lovino jumped again in his seat at the sight of the man.

It was like nothing he'd ever seen.

So scary.

Nightmare inducing, even.

Plus, the sound of the audience screaming didn't help either.

The girl screamed as the man plunged the knife down, nearly killing her.

Lovino was trembling in his seat.

Great.

The movie hasn't even been going on for ten minutes yet, and Lovino was already quivering.

About forty-five minutes later, the movie seemed to have switched plots.

What was this, some kind of double-feature?

If it was, this one involved ghosts.

Figures.

Trying not to look away in fear, Lovino felt something tap his shoulder.

Lovino gasped and jumped again before he looked over to see Antonio.

"Hey, Lovi. You want some popcorn?" Antonio asked.

Gulping, Lovino took a handful and reluctantly turned his attention back towards the movie.

Before he knew it, Lovino had finished all of the popcorn in his hand.

He reached over to grab some more, if only to divert his attention for a short while.

Once he was done with that handful, he reached over to grab another.

And then another.

And then another.

Rinse and repeat.

Then when he finished yet another handful, Lovino reached over to grab more, that is, until he felt something warm.

Lovino looked over and saw that he was touching Antonio's hand.

Antonio smiled and Lovino snatched his hand away, blushing a deep red.

Needing something to cool off, Lovino grabbed up his soda and took a long sip.

'Oh, God, I can't believe I touched his hand!' Lovino thought, feeling embarrassed.

A while of people screaming later, and the popcorn, candy, soda, and ice cream finished, Lovino had no other means of distraction and had no choice but to focus on the movie.

There was a loud growl from a demon coming from the screen.

This plot involved people trying to figure out why they are being haunted by a demon and how to capture evidence.

Another scream and Lovino closed his eyes, trembling.

God, when will this movie end?

Lovino was going to _kill_ Antonio for dragging him into this movie.

Lovino looked over to Antonio, and to his surprise, Antonio didn't even seem _fazed_ by this whole thing!

What the _hell_?

How the hell can he just _sit_ there?

Lovino turned back and almost screamed because, there was the face of the demon in the middle of the screen.

Gasping, Lovino reached out and grabbed something.

Something warm.

And soft.

For the rest of the movie, Lovino stayed like that, gripping whatever it was that he was holding.

And every time there was a scream, Lovino gripped that warm, soft object.

The movie finally ended with something flying towards the camera with an evil grin on its face.

Lovino screwed his eyes shut just as the crowed screamed, yet again.

When the credits started rolling, the overhead lights came back on and Lovino opened his eyes again.

Giving a great sigh of relief, Lovino looked over to Antonio who was smiling at him.

Lovino looked at him with a confused look until he turned his attention to the warm feeling in his hand.

Lovino saw that he was holding Antonio's hand on the armrest.

Lovino's face turned a bright red then, as he snatched his hand away.

The realization that it had been Antonio's hand that he was holding onto the whole time was too much for him to bear.

Oh, God, it was so embarrassing.

Lovino shot up out of his seat then and tried to leave.

"Wait, Lovi! Let's wait until more people leave. It's too crowded!" Antonio said.

"N-No, we're leaving _now_!" Lovino said, trying to get past Antonio.

Lovino then let out a loud yelp as he felt himself lose his footing.

"Whoa!" Lovino yelped.

A grunt as he felt himself land on something soft.

When Lovino regained himself, he opened his eyes and saw that he was sitting on Antonio's lap, facing him.

"Gotcha!" Antonio said, smiling brightly. "Almost lost ya there!"

Lovino tried to speak but he fumbled his words.

"Wh-Wha?" was all he could say.

Lovino was frozen there for a while, staring down into Antonio's sparkling green eyes looking back up at him.

"So, Lovi, you wanna get off of me now, or were you planning on doing it right here in the theater?" Antonio asked, smiling.

Coming back down to Earth, Lovino realized the compromising position they were in and scrambled off of Antonio, face blushing a deep red.

"Don't flatter yourself , you asshole! That's the _last_ thing I'd _ever _do with _you_!" Lovino said.

Antonio laughed then. "I'm kidding, Lovi!" he said, wrapping his arms around Lovino. "You're always so serious!"

"Whatever." Lovino said, struggling free from Antonio's grip. "Let's just go."

"Sure." Antonio said, following behind.

As they entered the theater lobby, Lovino was still walking ahead of Antonio, hands clenched at his sides.

"Wait up, Lovi!" Antonio called after Lovino.

Lovino ignored him and started walking faster.

"Leave me alone." Lovino said, darkly, as they walked out into the parking lot.

When they finally got to the car, Lovino waited until Antonio unlocked the doors and got in slamming the door.

When Antonio got in the car after Lovino, he let out a contented sigh. "Good movie, huh? Really scary."

"Don't remind me." Lovino said, crossing his arms.

"You were scared, weren't you?" Antonio asked.

"What?" Lovino asked. "No, I wasn't!"

"Yes, you were! I saw you shaking! You were so cute, Lovi, I just wanted to hold you right there!" Antonio said.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Lovino said, looking out of the window.

"Yes, you do! You were holding my hand! I didn't want to say anything because it would ruin the moment." Antonio said, wistfully.

Lovino's face blushed red, yet again, as he said, "Wh-Whatever. J-Just shut up, already and take me home so I can be done with you."

"Ah, ah, ah, Lovi." Antonio said, waving a finger in the air. "We're not done with our date yet! We still have another place to go to!"

"What? _Another _place?" Lovino said, in disbelief.

"Yep!" Antonio said, smiling.

Lovino groaned. "Oh, for God's sake. Where _else_ are we going?" Lovino asked.

"That's a _secret_!" Antonio smiled, as he leaned towards Lovino.

Lovino groaned again. "Whatever, just take me there so we can _end_ this stupid date!"

Antonio chuckled. "Well, when we're done with this date, Lovi, you won't _want_ this date to end."

"Yeah, whatever. Like _that'll_ ever happen." Lovino muttered.

Antonio chuckled again and started up the car.

Once they pulled out of the parking lot, they set off down the street.

As they hit the freeway, Lovino's attention wandered to the passing scenery.

Where were they going?

And when they get there, what would they do?

These thoughts among others passed through Lovino's head as he stared out the window.

"Can you just tell me where we're going already?" Lovino asked, unable to take the suspense any longer.

"Nope!" Antonio said, cheerily.

Lovino groaned again. "Well, can you at least give me a hint?" Lovino asked. "I can't take it any longer."

Antonio chuckled. "No, Lovi, you're just gonna have to wait. It's a surprise!"

Lovino grumbled a response and looked back towards the window.

"Come on, don't be like that, Lovi. You're gonna have fun." Antonio said, trying to cheer Lovino up.

Lovino huffed. "Yeah, we'll see." he said.

And with that, Antonio turned back towards the road and they continued on down the freeway.

They continued down the road for about an hour and Lovino was wondering what was taking so long.

"Are we there yet? My God, what's taking so long?" Lovino asked.

Antonio laughed. "No, Lovi, we're not there yet. And it's a little bit out there, so that's why it's taking so long. Trust me, it may be far away, but it's worth it." Antonio said.

"Well, for your sake, it better be." Lovino said, lowly.

And then, sure enough, a short while later, they were getting off of the freeway, going to wherever Antonio planned the second part of their date.

Lovino then gave a big yawn, bored and tired from the long car ride.

"Don't worry, Lovi, we're almost there." Antonio assured.

"Yeah, well, hurry up and get there before I fall asleep from boredom." Lovino said, irritated.

"We'll be there soon." Antonio said.

A short while later, they were coming up on an immensely large building.

Lovino looked at it curiously and cocked and eyebrow in confusion.

He looked over to Antonio, who was still smiling, and seeing that he wasn't making any turns, assumed that that was the place that they were going.

Turning his attention back towards the building, Lovino stared at it, trying to figure out what it was.

The only thing that he could gather from it was that it was a light blue building.

"Is that it?" Lovino dared himself to ask.

"Yep!" Antonio said.

"What is it?" Lovino asked.

"I'm still not telling you, Lovi!" Antonio said. "You're still gonna have to wait until you get inside. Shame on you for trying to trick me."

Lovino rolled his eyes then. "Whatever." he said.

And as they got closer and closer, Lovino still couldn't figure out for the life of him, what exactly it was.

A few minutes later, they were pulling into the parking lot, and after finding a parking space, they got out of the car while Lovino continued to eye the strange building, suspiciously.

When they finally got to the entrance and entered the building, Lovino looked all around him.

Giant tanks with various species of fish everywhere and people walking all around.

"An…aquarium?" Lovino asked, confusion in his voice.

"Yeah!" Antonio cheered.

"Why here? Why an aquarium?" Lovino asked.

"Because, Lovi, look, they're all so pretty!" Antonio said, pointing to a brightly colored fish.

Lovino could only look ahead, dumbly.

"Come on, let's go!" Antonio said. "We got a lot to do!"

So, getting behind Lovino and pushing, Antonio hurried Lovino deeper into the aquarium, with an excited smile of his face.

They walked throughout the aquarium, stopping at various tanks with Antonio pointing out different fish and other creatures.

The aquarium was so big that Lovino was sure that they were lost and that Antonio was just acting like he knew what he was doing.

It was like they would never get out.

"Hey, look, Lovi! Aren't they pretty?" Antonio asked.

Lovino rolled his eyes, uninterested. "Yeah, they're very beautiful." he said, crossing his arms.

Giggling, Antonio pushed Lovino towards another tank with obvious excitement.

The tank they stopped in front of was absolutely _huge_.

So huge that Lovino couldn't help but be suddenly interested by the sheer size of the glass.

How can they build a tank so large without fear of it breaking?

It really was a mystery.

Antonio, noticing Lovino staring at the tank, started pointing out the various fish in the tank.

Since the tank was big, there were bound to be big fish in there too.

And there was.

Tuna, Marlin, a few Sunfish, and the occasional Whale shark.

All these behemoths among smaller fish.

Although, the schools of smaller fish were rather impressive as well.

So shiny and shimmering; it was beautiful, really.

The way they all swam so beautifully and elegantly through the water.

"Look, Lovi, shark!" Antonio said, pointing to one of the various sharks swimming around. "You're not scared, are you? Don't worry, I'll protect you!" he said, wrapping his arms around Lovino.

Lovino blushed a dark red. "W-Will you shut up about that?" Lovino asked, yelling. "I-I told you, I thought I was gonna die! _That's_ why I was scared!" Lovino yelled, pushing himself away from Antonio. "It's different when they're in a tank." he muttered, crossing his arms and turning away.

Antonio laughed. "I know that, Lovi. I just wanted to see what your reaction would be."

"Bastard." Lovino said, getting up. "Let's go."

They walked around, going to various exhibits, looking at other types of sea creatures.

Penguins, seals, octopi, and manta rays.

They even went to an exhibit where people can touch sea creatures.

"Come on, Lovi. Touch it." Antonio said, pointing to a small sea creature swimming by.

There were a few different animals swimming around the small tank.

Among them were small stingrays and baby sharks.

Lovino eyed the animals swimming underneath the water.

He stood there for a short while before looking over to Antonio who had no problem with touching the animals in the tank.

Then, turning back towards the tank, Lovino reached out and lowered a trembling hand down towards the water.

When his hand finally touched the water, Lovino jerked his hand back.

The water was cold.

Then taking an uneasy gulp, Lovino reached back out and tried again.

This time, used to the water, Lovino waited until he gathered himself before he started touching anything.

Just then, a baby shark swam by brushed his hand.

Lovino gasped and almost pulled his hand out again but he didn't, not wanting to scare the fish.

The shark came back and brushed up against his hand again.

And then another shark.

And another.

And a few stingrays as well.

They were all swimming around his hands, brushing up against them every so often.

"Aww, see, Lovi? They like you!" Antonio said, watching Lovino.

Lovino tried to suppress the blush and small smile that was showing on his face, but it didn't work.

"Come on, let's go somewhere else!" Antonio said.

"O-Ok." Lovino said, softly, almost reluctant to leave the friendly animals.

They went to other large tanks, some with big fish and some with small fish.

Lovino had never seen so many colorful fish in his life and he wondered where the aquarium gets so many exotic fish.

So many tanks, so little time.

Lovino was having a great time and he was looking at the various fish with an almost child-like appearance.

Although, he was probably unaware of this.

And also probably unaware that Antonio was looking at him every so often with a smile on his face.

"Ok, Lovi. Let's go somewhere else!" Antonio said, grabbing Lovino's hand and pulling him in another direction.

They spent a long time walking around with Antonio pulling Lovino by his hand, leading him around.

Lovino was too busy looking around at the different exhibits to notice that Antonio's hand was wrapped around his.

And Antonio, sensing this, didn't bother to tell Lovino because if he did, then Lovino would just snatch his hand away.

So he just kept quiet, leading Lovino where he would, with that big smile on his face.

After a few more hours of looking around, Antonio started leading Lovino towards the door.

Well, it looks like he _did_ know where he was going.

"Ah, that was fun, Lovi! I've never had so much fun here before!" Antonio said, smiling back at Lovino.

Lovino just looked at Antonio with a confused look on his face.

'Where are we going?' Lovino thought.

"Well, that was fun. We should come here again soon!" Antonio said.

"W-Wait. Come here again? Where are we going?" Lovino asked.

"We're leaving, of course!" Antonio said.

"L-Leaving?" Lovino asked. "W-Why?"

"Because there's nothing else to do here! We'd be here all day if we were going see the whole thing." Antonio said.

"W-Wait!" Lovino said, stopping in his tracks which stopped Antonio as well.

"Huh? What is it, Lovi? Why are you stopping?" Antonio asked, confused.

"I…" Lovino began. "I-I…I…" Lovino stuttered.

"You what?" Antonio asked.

"I-I don't wanna go yet. I-I wanna see more…" Lovino finally admitted, blushing.

Antonio looked at Lovino before smiling greatly.

"Ah, I see! You don't wanna leave yet! See, I told you when our date's done, you won't want it to end! So you _do_ want this date to continue!" Antonio said, cheerfully.

Lovino gulped, blushing a darker shade of red and nodded his head, utterly embarrassed and hating himself for falling for Antonio's prediction.

"Ok, Lovi! We'll stay! Just because you want to!" Antonio said, happily.

And with that, Antonio turned around, Lovino's hand still in his own, and walked back into the aquarium.

Lovino breathed a small sigh of relief as they headed deep into the building.

Who would want to stop early when there was so much to see?

They spent a lot of time, walking around going to new exhibits.

Lovino looked around in awe at the sheer vastness of the aquarium.

The next place they went to was a glass tunnel.

"Oh, look, Lovi! Let's go in there!" Antonio said, pointing to the tunnel.

"O-Ok." Lovino said.

When they got there, it was something Lovino had never seen before.

So many species of fish living together in peace.

And the water was so bright and _blue_.

It was so beautiful.

When they got off of the moving floor, Antonio began leading Lovino again.

As they were walking along, something caught Lovino's eye.

Something interesting.

It was some type of exhibit.

But this one was very dark for some reason.

"Wait, Antonio!" Lovino said, stopping.

Antonio found himself stumbling backwards, unable to go any further.

He looked back at Lovino. "What is it, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

"What is that?" Lovino said, pointing to the dark room.

"I don't know. I don't think I've ever been in there before." Antonio said.

"Well, let's go." Lovino said.

"Uhh, I don't know, Lovi. It looks like it's off limits." Antonio said.

"Oh, come on, let's go." Lovino said, walking towards the room, this time with him leading Antonio by the hand.

Had he still not noticed that they were holding hands?

Antonio was utterly shocked at this.

Yet he still didn't say anything, still wanting to revel in the contact.

A short while later, they were in the room.

"Wow. It's so dark in here." Lovino said.

"Umm, I don't know about this, Lovi." Antonio said. "Maybe we should go."

"Oh, stop being a baby. Lighten up." Lovino said. "I just wanna see what's in here."

And with that, Lovino pulled Antonio further into the dark room.

Lovino looked all around, trying to figure out exactly what that room was.

Until there was something that caught his eye.

He looked over to see what it was.

Bright flashing lights.

"Huh?" Lovino said. "What's that?"

And with that, he started walking forward and trying to figure out what it was.

As he got closer, he saw that the light seemed to be moving around in a dimly lit rectangle.

"What is it, Lovi?" Antonio asked, from behind.

"I don't know." Lovino answered back.

Another bright light caught Lovino's eyes and he looked around to see that there were other bright flashing lights.

There was a bright light over a plaque right next to one of the flashing lights.

When they finally got closer, Lovino reached up and tried to touch the flashing lights.

But he couldn't feel anything.

What he _did_ feel, however, was glass.

Lovino arched a confused eyebrow.

And then, looking at it, Lovino didn't realize what it was until he started knocking on the glass.

It was a tank.

But if it was a tank, then did that mean whatever was inside of it was a fish of some sort?

"What is it?" Antonio asked.

"I think…it's a…fish?" Lovino said, confused, putting his face to the glass. "Hey, I think they _are _fish…this one looks like some sort of jellyfish?"

Antonio walked up beside Lovino. "Hey, you're right."

"It's…glowing. Then does that mean that the flashing light is coming from this?" Lovino asked.

"Looks like it." Antonio replied.

Looking around, Lovino saw more tanks with flashing lights in them.

He led Antonio to another one and looked inside of it.

This one seemed to be some type of fish.

"Wow. They're all so pretty." Lovino said, putting both of his hands on the glass. "How are they doing that?" he asked.

Feeling Lovino's hand untangle from his own, Antonio's shoulders slumped and his mood dropped.

But it was with great excitement that his mood perked up when Lovino took his hand again.

Antonio figured that Lovino's hand had gotten used to the feeling and yet _still_ didn't realize that he was holding his hand.

Then looking around and noticing the plaque under the bright light, Lovino began walking towards it, pulling Antonio along with him.

When they got there, Lovino looked at it.

Antonio came up beside him and looked at it too, trying to read it.

"It says that it's bioluminescence. That's why they're glowing." Antonio said.

"But how?" Lovino asked, looking back at the glowing sea creatures.

Continuing to read on, Antonio read aloud the words on the plaque.

"It says, 'Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. It is a naturally occurring form of chemiluminescence where energy is released by a chemical reaction in the form of light emission. Fireflies, anglerfish, and other creatures produce the chemicals luciferin and luciferase. The luciferin reacts with oxygen to create light. The luciferase acts as a catalyst to speed up the reaction, which is sometimes mediated by cofactors such as calcium ions or ATP. The chemical reaction can occur either inside or outside the cell. In bacteria, the expression of genes related to bioluminescence is controlled by an operon called the Lux operon. Ninety percent of deep-sea marine life is estimated to produce bioluminescence in one form or another. Most marine light-emission belongs in the blue and green light spectrum, the wavelengths that can transmit through the seawater most easily. However, certain loose-jawed fish emit red and infrared light and the genus _Tomopteris_ emits yellow bioluminescence. While most marine bioluminescence is green to blue, the Black Dragonfish produces a red glow. This adaptation allows the fish to see red-pigmented prey, which are normally invisible in the deep ocean environment where red light has been filtered out by the water column. Bioluminescence occurs in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as microorganisms and terrestrial animals.' Huh. Wow, that's a lot of science talk, huh, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

Lovino nodded his head. "Bioluminescence, huh? Sounds complicated. But still pretty though." Lovino said.

"Oh, look, it has the names of the fish on here." Antonio said.

"Well, then what is this jellyfish thing?" Lovino asked, pointing at the ball of fluctuating light.

"It says that it's a Sea gooseberry. That's a funny name." Antonio said, chuckling. "And it says it's not a jellyfish, but in a group called Ctenophora. They're also called comb jellies. 'Their most distinctive feature is the "combs" or groups of cilia they use for swimming, and they are the largest animals that swim by means of cilia – adults of various species range from a few millimeters to 1.5 meters (59 in) in size.'" Antonio said, reading on.

"But then why does it have rainbow colors if bioluminescence can be blue, green, red, and yellow?" Lovino asked.

Antonio chuckled. "Ah, I knew you'd ask that. It's here that 'the comb rows of most planktonic ctenophores produce a rainbow effect, which is not caused by bioluminescence but by the scattering of light as the combs move. Most species are also bioluminescent, but the light is usually blue or green and can only be seen in darkness.' "So it's basically the diffraction of light. Cool, huh, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah." Lovino said. "Oh, what about that one?" he asked, getting ever more curious by the second.

"Oh, um, I don't know." Antonio said.

"Then let's go see what it is then." Lovino said, pulling him towards the tank.

When they got there, Lovino paused in front of the tank and looked inside, curiously.

Antonio, watching Lovino with curious intensity, simply smiled and started reading the description.

"It says here that this is a Lanternfish. 'They are aptly named after their conspicuous use of bioluminescence. In all but one species, _Taaningichthys paurolychnus_, a number of light-producing organs are present; these are paired and concentrated in ventrolateral rows on the body and head. Some may also possess specialized photophores on the caudal peduncle, in proximity to the eyes (e.g., the "headlights" of _Diaphus_ species), and luminous patches at the base of the fins. The light-producing organs emit a weak blue, green, or yellow light, and are known to be arranged in species-specific patterns. In some species, the pattern varies between males and females. This is true for the luminous caudal patches, with the males' being typically above the tail and the females' being below the tail. Lantern fish are generally small fish, ranging from about 2 centimeters (0.79 in) to 30 centimeters (12 in) in length, with most being under 15 centimeters (5.9 in). In life, shallow-living species are an iridescent blue to green or silver, while deeper-living species are dark brown to black.'" Antonio said, taking a long inhale of breath.

"Ooh, let's go see more." Lovino said, with anticipation.

"What? More?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah, it's really cool. Come on, let's go to the next one." Lovino said, pulling Antonio along.

"Wow, you're really interested, huh, Lovi?" Antonio asked. "I can tell you're excited by the sound of your voice. I don't think I've ever seen you this excited on one of our dates before." Antonio said, smiling.

Lovino stopped pulling Antonio along and stopped in his tracks in front of the tank.

"Y-Yeah, w-well, I-I just n-never seen anything like this…that's all." Lovino said, blushing a deep red.

Lovino was blushing so red that Antonio could see it even in the dim light of the exhibit.

"S-So, wh-what is it?" Lovino asked, stuttering and trying to change the subject.

"O-Oh, right. Um, this one is a Viperfish. 'A Viperfish is a saltwater in the genus _Chauliodus_, with long, needle-like teeth and hinged lower jaws. They grow to lengths of 30 to 60 cm (12 - 24 inches). Viperfish stay near lower depths (250–5,000 feet) in the daytime and shallow at night. Viperfish mainly stay in tropical and temperate waters. It is one of the fiercest predators in the very deep part of the sea and is believed to attack its prey by luring the victim close to itself with a light producing organ. This organ is called a photophore and is located on the end of its dorsal spine. It flashes this natural light on and off while at the same time moving the dorsal spine around like a fishing rod and hanging completely still in the water, and also uses the voluntary natural light producing organ to communicate to its potential mates and rivals. Viperfish vary in color between green, silver and black. It uses its fang-like teeth to immobilize its prey, and would not be able to close its mouth because of their length if it were not able to curve them behind its head. The first vertebra behind the head of the viperfish is known to absorb the shock of its attacks, which are mainly targeted against dragonfish and other small creatures. They are able to undergo long periods with scarcely any food.'" Antonio said, as he read the plaque.

"It looks kinda creepy." Lovino said, shifting his weight uncomfortably and shuffling his feet.

Antonio laughed. "Yeah, maybe a little. But that's not the only thing about them. 'Viperfish are believed to live from 30 to 40 years but in captivity rarely live more than a few hours. Some species of dolphins and sharks are known to prey upon viperfish. Scientists believe that a viperfish can swim at a speed of two body lengths per second but that is not yet the official speed.'" Antonio said, reading on.

"Huh? A few hours in captivity? But then how is it living now?" Lovino asked, confused.

"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe they figured out how to maintain them in an aquarium." Antonio said, trying to offer a solution as to why the fish was there.

"Oh." Lovino said, softly. "Well…um…what about that one?" Lovino said, pointing to yet another tank.

"Wow, Lovi, another one?" Antonio asked. "Haven't you had enough explanations already?"

"O-Oh. I-I'm sorry. I-I'm not making you read too much, am I?" Lovino asked. "Y-You don't have to read it if you don't want to. I'm sorry for making you read all the descriptions."

Antonio chuckled. "No, it's ok, Lovi. I like reading them for you. It means that I get a chance to teach you about stuff."

"O-Oh. O-Ok then. But only if you're sure." Lovino said.

"Of course I'm sure!" Antonio said, happily.

"Ok." Lovino said, simply.

And with that, Lovino pulled Antonio along to another tank (still unaware that he and Antonio were hand in hand).

"Ok, Lovi, now this one says that it's a Marine hatchetfish. 'They are small deep-sea fish which have evolved a peculiar body shape and like their relatives have bioluminescent photophores. The latter allow them to use counterillumination to escape predators that lurk in the depths: by matching the light intensity with the light penetrating the water from above, the fish does not appear darker if seen from below. They typically occur at a few hundred meters below the surface, but their entire depth range spans from 50 to 1,500 meters deep. The body is deep and laterally extremely compressed, somewhat resembling a hatchet (with the thorax being the "blade" and the caudal peduncle being the "handle").' Hmm, I like this one. What do you think, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah, it's ok." Lovino said.

"Look, you can barely see it. You just got to focus really hard. See it?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah. I can see it but just barely. It's almost like it's invisible." Lovino said.

Antonio laughed. "Yeah, it does. So what now? You want me to read more?" Antonio asked.

"No, that's ok. We can go someplace else now." Lovino said.

"Ok, then." Antonio said.

And with that, Lovino pulled Antonio out of the dark exhibit and back towards the glass tunnel.

They spent just about the whole day at the aquarium, marveling at the other exhibits.

Coming up to another tank, they stopped in front of it and watched the various species swim around.

"So, are you having a good time, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

Lovino paused for a while, perhaps apprehensively, and said, "Y-Yeah. I-I guess I am."

"That's good." Antonio said. "You know, I'm really glad you keep giving me chances to take you out. Maybe you really _do_ like me!"

"D-Don't read into this too much. I-It's only because I don't have anything to do!" Lovino said, blushing slightly.

Overcome with joy, Antonio gave Lovino's hand a light squeeze.

Lovino feeling this sudden pressure, looked down towards his hand and, to his horror, saw that his hand was wrapped around Antonio's.

Lovino's eyes widened and he looked up at Antonio, who was smiling greatly, and back down towards his hand.

And then back up.

Then down.

Lovino then blushed an even deeper red, and it was with great strength that he ripped his hand away and interlaced his fingers with his other hand in front of him.

Antonio laughed, asking, "What's wrong, Lovi?"

Lovino looked at him, face still red, and unable to take the embarrassment any longer, began to walk away.

"Wait, Lovi! Come back!" Antonio called.

Lovino didn't answer and sped up his pace.

"Come on, Lovi, wait up!" Antonio said. "What's wrong? Where are you going?" he asked, finally catching up and grabbing Lovino's arm to keep him from walking any further. "Please don't go."

Lovino paused in his tracks when he felt Antonio's hand grab his arm.

"Come on, Lovi. We still have a lot to see here. You can't leave yet. Come on, let's go." Antonio said, pulling Lovino by the arm back to the massive tanks.

But then remembering that Lovino was just embarrassed by their contact, Antonio released Lovino's arm and walked beside him.

They spent a long time just walking and looking around in complete and total silence.

And in all that time, Lovino had his arms crossed as if he was hugging himself, not wanting to accidently hold Antonio's hand again and still blushing, albeit lighter, now that some time had passed.

"S-So, y-you've been here before?" Lovino asked, quietly.

Antonio looked at Lovino, shocked that he was the one to break the awkward uncomfortable silence first.

Then remembering Lovino's question, Antonio spoke up, saying, "O-Oh, y-yeah. Yeah, I've been here before. Many times, actually. But none of them has been as fun as this time." Antonio said, trying to make Lovino feel better. Antonio then paused for a moment, before speaking up and saying, "It's almost like I'm seeing everything for the first time."

And hearing this, Lovino blushed more and shifted uncomfortably. "O-Oh, o-ok." Lovino said, softly.

"And I'm guessing that this is your first time here?" Antonio asked.

"Y-Yeah. I-It is." Lovino said, stuttering.

"Oh, ok then. Well, that's good because it means that I can introduce you to new things, ok?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah. O-Ok." Lovino said.

After spending most of the day at the aquarium, Antonio decided that it would be best to go before it closes.

And Lovino had no resistance to going, whatsoever.

He wanted to go too, if only to end this embarrassing date.

On the way to the front entrance, they passed by many people who were coming and going.

When they finally got outside, Lovino kept opening his mouth and closing it again like he wanted to ask Antonio something.

And he did.

But every time he tried to talk, he lost his voice and fell silent.

When they finally got to Antonio's car, he waited until it was unlocked and got in.

A short while later, they were out of the parking lot and on the road again.

They spent most of the car ride home, in complete silence.

That is, until Lovino finally worked up the courage to ask what was bothering him.

After a few unsuccessful attempts of trying to speak, Lovino finally found his voice.

"S-So, how long were we holding hands?" Lovino asked, hesitantly.

Antonio blinked. "Oh, that? Um, ever since we left that place where you could touch the fish."

Lovino shifted uncomfortably in his seat and blushed even redder.

"R-Really? E-Ever since then?" Lovino asked, horrified.

"Yep!" Antonio said, happily. "Really, Lovi, I don't see how you didn't notice. I mean, you were practically leading me around all day. And even when you let go of my hand and grabbed it again, you _still_ didn't notice. Were you _that_ into seeing everything that you didn't notice?" Antonio asked.

Lovino blushed and crossed his arms and looked out the window at the passing scenery.

Antonio sighed, contently, and said, "That was fun, wasn't it? I don't think I've had that much fun on a date before!"

Lovino grumbled a response and continued looking away, not wanting Antonio to see him blushing.

For the rest of the car ride home, neither of them said anything to each other.

Antonio, being in his perpetual good mood and Lovino with a slight blush playing across his cheeks.

When they got to Lovino's house, as usual, Lovino got out with Antonio following behind him.

When they finally got to Lovino's front door, Antonio grabbed up Lovino's hands in his own.

Or at least he _wanted_ to.

Figuring that Lovino was still embarrassed from holding his hand, Antonio didn't not dare to try to hold his hand again.

"Wow, Lovi that's was a lot of fun. I think that may have been the most fun date I've ever been on so far." Antonio said, happily.

And hearing that Antonio found their date to be the most fun date he's ever been on, Lovino started blushing again.

"Well, Lovi. I guess I'd better go now." Antonio said, before walking back down the stairs.

"O-Oh. O-Ok then." Lovino said, looking down at Antonio.

When Antonio got down the steps, he looked back up at Lovino. "So, I'll see you tomorrow, ok, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

Lovino blushed at Antonio's confidence that he will see him tomorrow, and then giving a small smile that he prayed that Antonio didn't see, said, "O-Ok. I-I'll see you tomorrow."

Antonio smiled then. "Good." he said.

And with that, Lovino opened the door and stepped inside, but still keeping it open.

He waited and watched as Antonio walked around to the driver's side and looked up at him, smiling.

"Goodnight, Lovi." Antonio said, warmly.

Lovino blushed even redder. "G-Goodnight."

And with that, Antonio got in the car and Lovino closed the door.

Lovino waited against the door, waiting for Antonio to pull away.

And when he finally did, Lovino gave a small smile and blushed.

So, finally walking away from the door, Lovino walked past the living room where he saw Feliciano talking very excitedly to Ludwig.

And then, noticing something from the corner of his eye, Feliciano turned and saw Lovino standing in the threshold.

"Lovino!" Feliciano yelled, getting up and running towards Lovino. "Where were you? I'm so happy you're here!"

"Feliciano get off of me! You're hugging me too tight!" Lovino said.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm just too excited!" Feliciano said.

"About what?" Lovino asked.

"Oh, you'll never guess where Luddy took me today!" Feliciano said, looking at Lovino. "He took me to-huh? What's wrong, Lovino?" Feliciano asked, suddenly.

"What are you talking about?" Lovino asked, confused.

"Your face." Feliciano began. "It's all red."

"Wh-What?" Lovino asked, in disbelief.

"Yeah. Your face is red. Are you ok? Are you sick? You're not getting sick, are you?" Feliciano asked, getting worried and raising a hand to Lovino's forhead. "Well, you don't feel very warm. Is there anything I can get for you?"

Swatting Feliciano's hand away, Lovino pushed Feliciano away from him. "Will ya get off of me, already? I'm not getting sick. I'm fine."

"Oh, o-ok then. A-Are you sure?" Feliciano asked, still worried.

"Yeah, yeah, I told you that I was fine. N-Now what was it that you were excited about again?" Lovino asked, trying to change the subject.

And typical Feliciano, forgetting about Lovino's condition, perked up again, and said, "Oh! Right, I almost forgot! You'll never guess where Luddy took me today! Here, come over and sit down with us!" Feliciano said, pulling Lovino along by the arm.

And giving a great sigh, Lovino allowed himself to be pulled along to the couch.

"Ok, like I was saying, Luddy took me somewhere special today!" Feliciano said, cuddling up into Ludwig's side.

"Oh, yeah? And where is that?" Lovino asked, uninterested.

"Well, first when I asked him where we were going, he wouldn't tell me! He kept saying that I should just enjoy it." Feliciano began. "Oh, yeah, and that reminds me, I cooked breakfast this morning for you, Lovino, did you eat it?" Feliciano asked.

"Yeah, I did. It was good." Lovino said.

Feliciano smiled. "Oh, that's good. Oh, and did you read the note too, then?" he asked.

"Yeah, I did. Thanks for the breakfast." Lovino said.

Feliciano giggled then. "You're welcome! I hope you keep whatever is making you happy!"

Lovino blushed again. "Y-Yeah, yeah, whatever. J-Just keep going."

Smiling, Feliciano began again. "Anyway, like I was saying, no matter how much I asked and begged, Luddy wouldn't tell me! Shame on you, Luddy! You _know_ how much I hate not knowing about stuff!" Feliciano said, pouting slightly and looking up at Ludwig, accusingly.

Ludwig smiled and rubbed the top of Feliciano's head. "I'm sorry. But I just couldn't let you find out, ja?"

Feliciano huffed. "Well, you're lucky I love you so much. Otherwise, I wouldn't ever forgive you." Feliciano said, taking his arms from around Ludwig and crossing them.

Ludwig chuckled. "You know you don't mean that. You always say that, but you always do." Ludwig said, pulling Feliciano closer to him.

"Sh-Shut up." Feliciano said, wrapping his arms back around Ludwig.

"See?" Ludwig said, chuckling. "You always do that."

Feliciano huffed again and buried his face in Ludwig's shirt.

Lovino then cleared his throat, loudly, interrupting the both of them. "Well? What happened? Aren't you going to finish?" he asked, tapping his foot, impatiently.

Feliciano looked up from Ludwig's shirt then. "Oh! Sorry, I forgot. See, Luddy? You keep distracting me!"

Ludwig smiled and rubbed the top of Feliciano's head again. "I'm sorry, Feliciano."

Feliciano smiled again. "Good. Now anyways, where was I?" Feliciano asked, tilting his head. "Oh, yeah, now I remember! No matter how much I asked him, he wouldn't tell me, so when he finally took me, it was an Italian restaurant!" Feliciano said, excitedly.

Lovino blinked in disbelief. "What? An Italian restaurant? What's so special about that?" Lovino asked, absolutely unsure what the big deal was.

"Oh, well, I'm glad you asked! Well, this isn't like any other Italian restaurant. In _this_ one, they actually _cook_ the food right in front of you! And they do tricks too!" Feliciano said, excitedly.

Lovino's eyebrow cocked in mild interest. "Really? How? So you just watch them boil pasta in water?" Lovino asked, confused.

Feliciano giggled. "No, of course not! They come out already boiled and they put them on a stove thing and add the spices and stuff! It's really cool! You should come one day! I can't describe it right. It's just something that you have to _see_!" Feliciano said.

"Uh-huh." Lovino began. "Yeah, well…I'll see."

Feliciano clapped, excitedly. "Yay! It's going to be so much fun! Oh, Luddy, you sure do know what I like!"

"Like that _thing_ we did yesterday?" Ludwig asked, with a low seductive tone.

"Huh, what thing?" Feliciano asked, tilting his head.

Giving a low chuckle, Ludwig leaned over and whispered into Feliciano's ear.

Lovino's eyes wided.

Oh, God no.

Not again.

Feliciano giggled and pushed Ludwig away, blushing.

"You're a _dirty_ boy, Luddy!" Feliciano said.

"Oh, _I'm_ dirty?" Ludwig asked. "What about all the things _you _did?"

"What? What did _I _do?" Feliciano asked.

Ludwig leaned down and whispered into Feliciano's ear again.

Why do they keep doing this?

Do they keep forgetting that they are doing this in _front_ of him?

Feliciano giggled and blushed even redder.

"Well, that's just because you _wanted_ me to!" Feliciano defended.

"Ja, but did you have to do it so energetically und _like _it?" Ludwig asked.

"Luddy, stop! You're so _filthy_! You're embarrassing me!" Feliciano said.

Oh, God.

What they _hell_ did they _do_ yesterday?

Just the _thought_ of it made Lovino gag.

And so finally having enough, Lovino cleared his throat, loudly again. "Ok, you two that's enough!" Lovino said, irritated.

Feliciano looked up at Lovino, who was glaring at them. "Oh, no! I'm sorry, Lovino. I keep forgetting to stop doing that!"

Lovino growled, annoyed.

"Um, ok, Luddy, maybe you should go. It's getting late." Feliciano said, pulling Ludwig up off of the couch. "And don't you have to go to work tomorrow?" Feliciano asked.

"Oh, ja, you're right." Ludwig said, looking at his watch. "I'd better leave now, I have to get up early tomorrow."

"Ok, Luddy, bye. I'll see you tomorrow." Feliciano said, pushing Ludwig towards the door.

And after a few minutes, the door opened and closed.

When Feliciano returned to the living room, Lovino was now standing up. "I-I'm so sorry I keep forgetting, Lovino. Please don't be mad at me." Feliciano said, softly.

And as if by magic, Lovino's anger subsided.

Lovino growled and rolled his eyes and said, "Whatever." as he walked past Feliciano. '_God,_ why can't I stay _mad _at him?' "I'm not mad." Lovino said, harsher than he intended. "Now, let's just go to bed."

Feliciano made a small whimpering sound from behind Lovino as if he was dreading for what was to come.

"Yes, you are. I can hear it in your voice." Feliciano said, barely above a whisper.

Lovino made a frustrated groan. "No, Feliciano, I'm _not_ mad." Lovino said. "I promise." Lovino said, trying to make sure his tone was calm so that Feliciano would be more at ease.

"A-Are you s-sure you're not mad at me?" Feliciano asked.

"Yes, Feliciano, I'm sure. And don't ask me again, because the answer is going to be the same, so calm down and don't worry." Lovino said, finally turning around and facing Feliciano.

When they got to their room, the taking off of clothes and a short time in the bathroom later, the both of them crawled into bed.

And even though Lovino told Feliciano that he wasn't mad at him, he still had a feeling that Feliciano was still uneasy.

So finally giving a groan, Lovino spoke up, saying something only to made Feliciano feel better.

"Feliciano." Lovino called out, lowly.

"Y-Yes?" came the soft reply next to him.

Lovino then gave another big sigh. "If it'll make you feel any better…I'll go to that restaurant with you one day, ok?" Lovino asked, annoyed.

Feliciano smiled then. "Ok! But remember, you promised!" he said, mood rising.

Lovino rolled his eyes at Feliciano's easy amusement. "Yeah, yeah, ok. Now, let's just go to sleep, ok?"

"Ok, goodnight, Lovino!" Feliciano said, hugging Lovino.

"Yeah, yeah, goodnight Feliciano. Now, will you get off me already?" Lovino said, prying his brother off of him.

Feliciano let go and smiled, giving a contented sigh and turned over.

Lovino let out a big yawn and slowly started falling asleep, thinking about Antonio.

Before he fell asleep, he looked at his hand and blushed, remembering that it had once held Antonio's hand.

And just before he fell into unconsciousness, Lovino heard Antonio's words ringing through his head, 'I think that may have been the most fun date I've ever been on so far.'

At that, Lovino finally fell asleep with a small smile and a light blush playing across his cheeks.

If that was probably the most fun Antonio had on a date, how would the next one that was sure to come compare?

Maybe it'll be better.

After all, Lovino _was_ becoming more comfortable around Antonio, no matter how much he hated it.

* * *

Whew! Another long chapter finally completed. Another _monster _of a chapter done! Looks like Lovino is finally getting more comfortable around Antonio. Who knows what will happen next?

P.S. I tried to make this one the best I could because of the long time from the last chapter. I know it was way longer than what you all are used to, and so I'm hoping to get back to that. So, sorry if I've left some people frustrated. And also, one more thing, sorry if the movie scene sucked. I kinda tried to cobble familiar movies together. So, maybe some of you will get what I'm referring to. Anyways, please read and review. And look forward to the next chapter! =).


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hello everybody. Well, the next chapter is finally here! Sorry for the long gap in updates but this wasn't a super long gap like the last chapter (Not really. Sorry about that.). But now, you know why it took so long. This was almost 20,000 words! I know right? This definitely puts my other super, mega, ultra, long chapters to shame. This is the _true _SUPER, MEGA, ULTRA, LONG chapter! I was actually looking forward to this chapter ever since I first started writing the story. Now, is where things start getting interesting and crazy and fun for me to write! Hope you're ready for it!

**Crimsonyaokiku : **Omg thank you! I absolutely had _no_ idea that I was portraying them accurately. I just tried to make sure to write the best I could. And I am actually surprised that you said that because when I read through it, I find that they really are accurate portrayals and it's so weird! I guess I just do it without really thinking about it.

**Skribble-scrabble :** Thank you! Don't worry, he will, sooner or later. Just give him time, lol.

Seriously, this chapter is long like whoa. And with that, chapter 8 starts now!

* * *

**Chapter 8**

As Lovino slept, he found that he was actually able to sleep peacefully.

And that surprised him.

For the first time in a very long time, he was actually able to _sleep_.

Not sleep, interrupted by short periods of being awake and trying to fall back into unconsciousness.

But _peaceful_ sleep.

And that felt _great_.

He wasn't even plagued by the annoying Antonio popping up in his dreams.

That was probably the best thing of all.

He didn't need to be reminded of him at every turn.

By God, just _seeing_ him every day was just enough for him.

_Beep, beep, beep_.

_Beep, beep, beep_.

Lovino awoke with a yawn and a stretch of his arms.

And to his surprise, he actually woke up feeling _good_.

He was actually in a _good_ mood for once.

His mind then flashed back to Antonio.

But he did not _dare_ to think that his good mood was Antonio's doing.

Lovino blushed a light red.

Ha.

As if he'd _ever_ be in a good mood because of _him_.

That's impossible.

He was just in a good mood, that's all.

Yeah, that's right.

He was in a good mood.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

Anyone can wake up in a good mood.

Even him.

It's just something that happens.

This was just a good day for him, that's all.

He would _not _be dependent on Antonio to supply him with something to put him in a good mood.

He was _not _the reason for this.

Yeah, right.

Sure it wasn't.

At least, he tried to _tell_ himself that.

Yes, that's right.

Who cares about Antonio?

Dammit, he was _happy_ for once in a very long time.

At any rate, not wanting to spend any more time sitting in his bed debating about Antonio anymore, Lovino swung his legs over the edge of the bed and got up to go to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

After Lovino was done in the bathroom, he walked out and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

As he was walking down the stairs, Lovino heard giggling, most likely Feliciano's.

And then a deep chuckle, most likely that damn German.

And strangely, Lovino didn't even care.

Not even when he turned into the kitchen and saw Feliciano and that damn German sitting at the table smiling at each other, happily.

Not even a single negative thought about the bastard.

Not just them giggling and talking to each other, but the fact that they were sitting across from each other and Ludwig's hands wrapped around Feliciano's.

Nope…nothing.

What were they talking about that was so funny and exciting?

Normally, Lovino would have been livid that they were interacting in that way, but today…he just felt _nothing_ bad towards the bastard.

Maybe it was just his good mood preventing him from having such bad thoughts.

As he made his way into the kitchen, Feliciano, noticing a figure from the corner of his eye, turned to see Lovino standing in the threshold.

"Lovino!" Feliciano cried out, excitedly. "You're up early!"

Lovino shrugged his shoulders, saying, "Yeah, well, I woke up in a good mood for some reason and I just decided to get up."

"Oh, that's so good!" Feliciano said. "Come, come! I made breakfast!"

"Sounds good." Lovino said, walking to the table.

After getting his food, Lovino sat down at the table with a smile on his face.

"So, did you sleep well?" Ludwig asked.

Lovino looked up at him and, to Ludwig's and Feliciano's surprise, Lovino smiled at him.

"Why, yes, I did, thank you." Lovino said, with a pleasant look on his face.

Both Ludwig's and Feliciano's eyes widened in surprise.

Lovino had _rarely_ talked to Ludwig, let alone _smiled_ at him.

In fact, Ludwig thought that Lovino _hated_ him.

Although there were times that Lovino was _somewhat_ friendly to Ludwig, there were still many other times where Lovino made his dislike of the German very well known.

In fact, in the periods where Lovino was actually _nicer_ than his usual self, Ludwig was often left very confused.

So, it was because of this, that Ludwig never really knew exactly where he stood in Lovino's eyes.

So, it was with a great surprise that Lovino actually _talked_ to him without muttering insults under his breath and smiling at him.

God, how good _was_ his mood?

Feliciano was the one to break the awkward silence since Ludwig was too dumbstruck to even speak.

"L-Lovino? Are…you ok? You're not getting sick are you?" Feliciano asked, hesitantly.

"Why, yes, I am." Lovino said. "Why do you ask?"

"W-Well, i-it's just that…you never talk to Luddy like that…o-or smile at him. So, I figured that something was wrong, like you were getting sick or something." Feliciano said.

"No, I'm fine. Well, like I said, I woke up in a good mood." Lovino said. "What else can I say? I'm feeling happy today." Lovino said, shrugging.

"U-Uh, s-so why are you in a good mood today, then?" Feliciano asked, curiously.

"Eh, I don't know. I just woke up like this. Maybe this is gonna be a good day for me." Lovino concluded.

"Oh…well that's nice." Feliciano said.

"So…" Lovino said, looking at Ludwig which snapped him back to reality.

Ludwig shook his head to clear his senses before finally finding his voice again. "U-Uh, j-ja? Wh-What is it?" he asked, stuttering.

"Why aren't you guys eating? You're not hungry?" Lovino asked. "Feliciano can be a hell of a cook, you know." Lovino said, continuing to eat his food.

Ludwig chuckled nervously. "Ja, I know. He's really good." Ludwig said, smiling at Feliciano, making him giggle.

"So, what, you're not hungry?" Lovino asked.

Ludwig's attention was brought back to Lovino at his question. "Oh, uh, nein, we already ate earlier. We were just sitting here und talking."

"Oh. That's nice." Lovino said, eating more of his food.

Feliciano and Ludwig exchanged confused looks.

Why was Lovino so happy and calm?

It was so strange.

It wasn't like him.

But it was still nice to see Lovino in high spirits even if it wasn't his usual demeanor.

"So, what were you guys talking about down here before I came in?" Lovino asked, carrying on the conversation with Ludwig.

There was a pause in the air as Ludwig stuttered an answer, unsure of what to say.

Lovino's eyebrow cocked in confusion. "Come on, you can tell me. It's not like you were talking about anything dirty, right?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano and Ludwig exchanged worried looks and Feliciano suddenly looked guilty like he had done something he shouldn't have.

"You ok, Feliciano?" Lovino asked.

"Uh, yeah, I'm okay. A-And no, it wasn't anything dirty. I-It's just that…" Feliciano said, trailing off at the end.

"It's just what?" Lovino asked.

"Well, um, we were just talking about me-if I were to-n-nevermind. I-It's not important. J-Just forget about it, Lovino, ok? I-I'll tell you later. Now's not a good time, ok? Feliciano said, stuttering.

Lovino continued to stare at Feliciano in confusion.

Feliciano's face was a dark red as he stared down at his hands on the table with a troubled look on his face.

Ludwig looked over across the table and saw Feliciano was obviously uncomfortable and reached over and placed his hand over Feliciano's in reassurance.

Feliciano looked up and Ludwig smiled, trying to comfort him. "Don't worry about it. You can tell him when you're ready, ok?" Ludwig asked.

Feliciano smiled. "Ok. Thanks, Luddy." Feliciano said.

Ludwig, still smiling, gave Feliciano's hand a light squeeze as a response.

"Ok, then, that's fine with me. I don't mind, though. I can wait, so you can tell me when you feel like it, ok?" Lovino said.

"Oh, uh, ok then." Feliciano said.

What the hell?

He can _wait_?

The normal Lovino would be absolutely _interrogating_ the both of them after Feliciano was stuttering that badly.

He would have been _so_ suspicious that something shady was going on, but…not this Lovino.

This Lovino was very different.

Refreshing and pleasant but weird and strange at the same time.

After he got done eating, Lovino picked up his plate and placed it in the sink to wash it.

There was an awkward silence between them with the exception of the dishes clinking in the sink.

Feliciano, uncomfortable with the awkward atmosphere, decided that it would be a good time to leave.

"Ok, Lovino, Luddy and I are going out now." Feliciano said, getting up from the table.

"Ok, have fun." Lovino called back.

"Yeah…we will. Come on, Luddy, let's go." Feliciano said, pulling Ludwig by the arm.

"I guess I'll see you later, Lovino." Ludwig said, awkwardly.

"Yeah, see ya later." Lovino said, calmly.

A few minutes later the door opened and closed and they were gone.

After Lovino got done washing the dishes, he looked out the window to see if his brother and Ludwig were gone, and seeing that they were, walked to the front door to leave for the day.

So, quickly grabbing his keys off of the table next to the door, Lovino opened the door and walked out into the bright sunlight.

Closing the door behind him, he began walking down the street.

Normally, Lovino would be somewhat reluctant to get started in the day's activities which were sure to come, but, to his surprise, he found that he was actually walking to his usual meeting place with a strange excitement.

He was walking faster than usual, rather than walking like he didn't want to go, but was forced to.

And before he knew it, Lovino was already walking through the forest.

And when he got to the clearing, he knew exactly what was going to come.

And for once, he didn't dread it as much as he had earlier.

When he finally broke through the shrubbery, Lovino was greeted by a cool breeze.

He looked around.

Still no sign of Antonio.

That was alright.

He would see him soon enough.

Right now, he could just relax and enjoy the time to himself.

Walking over to the edge of the cliff, Lovino sat down and lay back on the ground, looking up at the sky.

Lovino stared up at the clouds moving slowly across the sky; it was so peaceful.

Time passed and Lovino had no idea how long he had been there.

Still no sign of Antonio.

Where was he?

Normally, he would have been here by now.

Lovino wasn't worried though.

Antonio will show up sooner or later.

He always does.

More time passed and Antonio still wasn't there.

Lovino was getting sleepy, but every time his eyelids fell, he jumped, not wanting to miss Antonio.

He then began fidgeting, trying to stay calm.

What was this, anticipation?

For Antonio?

No.

Hell no.

He was just bored and wanted something to do, right?

Right.

All of a sudden, Lovino heard a rustling from somewhere, and he knew.

He knew that sound all too well.

Antonio.

He knew it was because he had learned to differentiate between Antonio and an animal.

An animal's rustling was more hurried, whereas Antonio's was more slow and careful.

Lovino instantly sat right up, not wanting to be caught lying down.

Every so often, he would look out the corner of his eye to see if Antonio was coming but when he didn't see anything, he would become restless.

Why the hell is he taking so long?

Is he doing this on purpose?

Dammit, he was going to _kill_ Antonio for making him wait so long!

Finally, the rustling stopped and when Lovino looked over, there he was.

Walking like he didn't have a care in the world.

Antonio.

"Hi, Lovi!" Antonio said, waving.

Lovino blushed slightly and his heart started racing.

As Antonio got closer, Lovino turned his head away, trying not to smile.

Because if he did, Antonio would never let him live it down.

He tried his best not to, but the twitching at the corner of his lips was too much.

Why did he want to smile so much?

Was he actually _happy_ to see Antonio?

Trying to get a hold of himself, Lovino mentally slapped himself. 'Stop _smiling_, you idiot!' Lovino thought, irritated.

Then, with a determination that surprised even him, Lovino managed to suppress the smile threatening to spread across his lips just in time before Antonio fell in beside him and sat down.

"Hey, how are you?" Antonio asked, warmly.

"I-I'm fine. Boy, you sure took you're sweet ass time getting here." Lovino said, grumbling slightly.

"I know. I'm sorry, Lovi! I got caught up in something!" Antonio said, throwing his arms around Lovino. "Can you ever forgive me?"

Lovino blushed even more. "Whatever. J-Just don't do it again. I almost left your ass." Lovino said, knowing full well that he wasn't.

Antonio chuckled. "Well, I'm glad you didn't." Antonio said, squeezing tighter.

"Yeah, whatever. J-Just get off of me, already." Lovino said, pushing himself away.

"Wow, Lovi. I think that's the first time I held you that long with you knowing about it." Antonio said.

"Shut up. I just…don't feeling like kicking your ass today…th-that's all." Lovino said.

Antonio laughed. "Ok, Lovi…so, what do you want to do today?" he asked.

Lovino shrugged. "I don't know. You always have somewhere you want to go. Why don't _you_ pick something?" Lovino asked.

"Yeah, but I've been picking where we go all the time. This time, I want to go somewhere _you_ want to go." Antonio said.

"But I don't know where to go. You're the one who want to take me out on dates. It should be _you_ who picks where we go. I mean, it's not like we're an actual couple or anything, we're just hanging out." Lovino said.

And as soon as Lovino looked over at Antonio, he absolutely _hated_ himself because Antonio looked absolutely _hurt_ and crushed.

"J-Just…hanging…o-out?" Antonio said, shakily.

Lovino's eyes widened then. "A-And besides…all the places you've taken me were kinda…fun. I-I mean, if we _were_ a c-couple…_th-then_ I could have a say where we go, ok? I-It's not like I don't _want_ to go anywhere. It's just that I think you should pick where we go, you know? I _did_ have a good time on the last dates you picked. I-It's nothing personal, I-I swear." Lovino said, trying to explain himself.

Antonio just lowered his head and said, simply, "Alright."

"I'm sorry. I…I didn't mean it like that." Lovino let out a big sigh. "Please…don't be sad."

Great.

He had fucked up now.

Antonio had obviously thought that they were getting somewhere and now Lovino had fucked it up.

Sure, he didn't want to think of them as a couple, but he could have at least _thought_ before he said anything.

Antonio was despondent.

"W-We can still go out if you want! You can pick where we go, I don't mind. I'm fine with anywhere you want to go. I mean, it's worked out great before, right? So…is there anywhere you want to go today?" Lovino asked.

A short pause.

"Well." Antonio began. "I heard there was a carnival in town today…we could go there."

"That's great! We can go there! A carnival would be fun!" Lovino said, excitedly, trying to cheer Antonio up. "I'll go get ready and you can pick me up, ok?"

"Ok." Antonio said, lowly.

And with that, Lovino got up, dusted himself off, and walked off towards the woods.

But before he walked off, Lovino paused.

"I'm really sorry, Antonio. That…came out wrong…" Lovino said, before walking off.

When Lovino got to the edge of the woods, he looked back at Antonio who pulled his knees up to his chest, obviously in deep thought, and before the guilt could consume him, Lovino turned back around and pushed his way into the forest.

Great.

Now his good mood was gone.

And it was all because he didn't think before he spoke.

Now he was going to have to go into damage control.

But how?

How could he make Antonio feel better?

Smile?

No.

Be the happy one for once?

Not likely, now that his good mood was gone.

Hold his hand?

Not again, the embarrassment was too much.

Flirt with him?

Hell no.

_God,_ what could he _do_?

Lovino ruffled his hair in frustration.

Whatever he could do, he had to try to do _something_.

And whenever he thought of something, it would damn well have to be soon.

Or else he would have to go back to the dreary boring life he once had.

And he would _not_ go back there.

Lovino finally broke through the forest and into town, walking briskly to his house.

He needed to get home and think before Antonio came to pick him up.

Lovino was so deep in thought that he didn't realize he was at his front door.

So, taking his key and unlocking the door, Lovino opened the door with a slam and closing it before sitting down on the couch.

Settling down into the couch, Lovino tried to let his mind wander to try and think of a way he could cheer Antonio up.

That is, he _tried_ to if he wasn't so damn sleepy.

Every time he tried to focus, his eyelids would become heavy and he would jump up to try and stay awake.

But the urge to sleep was just too great and without even realizing it, Lovino was fast asleep.

He didn't know how much time had passed, all he knew was that he had woken up to the sound of a doorbell.

Lovino's eyes slowly opened and when he heard the doorbell again, his eyes shot open.

"Shit, shit, shit, _shit_!" Lovino hissed as he jumped up off the couch.

Lovino ran to the door and grabbed up his keys before ripping the door open to a calm, if not slightly shaky (thanks to Lovino wrenching the door open.), Antonio.

"Hi." Antonio said, calmly with a small smile on his face.

"Hey! So, should we get going, then?" Lovino said, trying to sound eager to get a reaction out of Antonio.

"Sure. Let's go." Antonio said, simply before turning around.

"Ok." Lovino said, closing the door behind him.

When they finally got to the car, Lovino opened the door and got inside.

He waited for Antonio to get inside, but he stopped outside of the driver's side door like he was dreading to get in the same car as Lovino.

When he finally got in though, Lovino looked over at him in confusion and maybe a little guilt, before finally asking, "What took you so long?"

Antonio looked up then, as if startled because he didn't know Lovino was there. "Oh, uh, yeah, I was uh, checking…on something." Antonio said.

"Oh." Lovino said, lowly.

"So, shall we get going then?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah…sure. Let's go." Lovino said.

And with that, Antonio started up the car and pulled off.

There was a short while of awkward silence and Lovino was at a loss of what to say and every time he tried to open his mouth to say something, he lost his voice.

However, after a few more attempts at trying to speak, Lovino finally found his voice and all he could manage to utter was an awkward question.

"S-So, when did a carnival come to town?" Lovino asked, somewhat hesitantly.

"I don't know. A few days ago, I guess." Antonio said, apathetically.

"Oh. That's cool. I haven't been to one in forever…thanks for taking me." Lovino said, trying to lighten the mood.

Antonio only muttered a, "Hmm." as a response.

Well, trying to make small talk failed.

What else is there to try?

"So, is this your first time to a carnival?" Lovino asked.

"No." Antonio said, simply.

"Oh, ok then." Lovino said.

_Damn_.

"So, how'd you know about this one?" Lovino asked.

"A friend told me. He said it was cool, so I wanted to go." Antonio said.

"Oh, so, it should be fun then." Lovino said, trying to smile.

Good.

At least he got a sentence out of him.

No matter how few.

"Yeah, I guess." Antonio said.

"So, um, when are we going to get there?" Lovino asked.

"Soon. We're almost there." Antonio said.

Lovino couldn't take it anymore.

He had to say something.

He was tired of this mopey, brooding, Antonio.

He wasn't used to _this_ Antonio.

He was used to the happy, cheerful one.

It was weird because he had only known him to be always upbeat.

"Come on, Antonio, I'm really sorry! I said I didn't mean it like that. It all…came out wrong, that's all. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I just wasn't thinking." Lovino finally blurted out.

Antonio only shrugged and gave another, "Hmm."

Seeing that this wasn't going anywhere, Lovino decided to give up and slumped down in his seat, looking out the window.

This was going to be a long, awkward car ride.

An unknown amount of time passed as they made their way to the carnival.

And during that time, Lovino had fallen asleep.

Obviously, his and Antonio's definitions of "soon" differed.

Because that was a long car ride, according to Lovino.

Lovino was awoken by a hand shaking him.

"Hey. Wake up. We're here." Antonio said.

"Huh? What?" Lovino asked, groggy.

"I said, wake up. We're here." Antonio said, more loudly.

"Oh…o-ok then." Lovino said, rubbing his eyes.

When they got out of the car, Lovino looked around in amazement.

Wow.

This place was _huge_!

Hardly a carnival.

In fact, the word "carnival" was an understatement.

"Come on, let's go." Antonio said, walking past Lovino.

"Ok." Lovino said, quietly following behind Antonio.

A short while later, they were inside the carnival, walking around.

"So, uh, what do you want to do first?" Lovino asked.

Antonio shrugged "I don't know." he said, apathetically.

Lovino looked around. "Oh, I know! Here, let's get on that." Lovino said, pointing to a ride.

Antonio looked to where Lovino was pointing and said, simply, "Alright."

A few minutes later they were off the ride, and to Lovino's surprise, Antonio didn't even crack a smile.

Lovino took Antonio on more rides and not once did Antonio show any signs of enthusiasm.

He tried his best to get Antonio to at least crack a smile, but it didn't work.

Giving up on going on rides, Lovino gave up and decided to just walk around.

As they walked around, Lovino looked over at Antonio and saw that he had an emotionless expression on his face.

'Goddammit, I can't keep going on like this, it's so awkward! _Think _of something, dammit!' Lovino thought to himself.

"So, uh, did you enjoy any of the rides…at all?" Lovino asked, awkwardly.

Antonio shrugged his shoulders and said, "Eh, they were alright."

"You didn't like them?" Lovino asked.

"I told you they were ok." Antonio replied, somewhat annoyed.

"Oh." Lovino said, quietly.

After a long while of walking around in awkward silence, Lovino tried talking to Antonio again.

"So…are you hungry?" Lovino asked.

"No." Antonio said, simply.

"Thirsty?" Lovino asked.

"_No._" Antonio said, getting irritable.

"Tired?" Lovino asked, trying to get Antonio to talk.

Antonio made annoyed groan. "No, I'm _fine._"

"Are you hot? I-If you're hot, we can sit down…and maybe get an ice cream or something." Lovino offered.

Antonio stopped in his tracks and turned towards Lovino with a scowl unlike anything Lovino had ever seen which made him shudder and yelled, "No, no, _no_! I'm not _any_ of those things! I told you, I'm _fine_! And why are you making so much of an attempt to talk to me? We're just '_hanging out_' remember?" Antonio said, using his fingers as air quotes and putting emphasis on "hanging out". "So, this isn't _really_ a date!" he said, darkly. "So, you don't have to act like you care about me, I can take care of myself, you know! Now, if you don't mind, I just want to walk around in _silence_! Meaning _without_ any talking!"

Lovino had _never_ seen Antonio this mad before.

Come to think of it, he had never seen Antonio mad at _all_.

He was so used to seeing him happy and cheerful that he didn't even think Antonio _could_ get mad.

And all the while as Antonio spoke, Lovino could see the hurt and anger in his magnificent emerald eyes as if Lovino had committed the ultimate betrayal.

He looked like a kicked puppy.

And oh, _God_, it was too much for Lovino.

"I'm…I'm sorry, I just-" was all Lovino could say before he was cut off.

"I don't want to _hear_ it!" Antonio yelled, making Lovino jump.

"-wanted to know if you were ok." Lovino said, softly.

"Yeah, well, now you know. I'm ok. Now, can we please move this along so we can be _done_ with this for today?" Antonio asked.

"O-Ok then. S-Sorry." Lovino said, meekly.

And with that, Antonio stormed off with Lovino next to him.

They spent another long period of time walking around in complete awkward silence.

God, the tension was so thick, one could cut it with a knife.

It was too much.

Great.

Just great.

He just wanted to make sure Antonio was ok.

He _wanted_ to try to make things better after his previous blunder, but it was really difficult to do.

Now, he couldn't say _anything_!

All because of his stupid questions and attempts to make small talk.

Yeah, he had _definitely _fucked up.

But he had to do _something_.

_Anything_.

Or else he would have to return to his normal, boring life.

And he would _not_ go back to that.

As they were walking, every so often, Lovino would look over at Antonio and see the violent storm brewing behind his sparkling green eyes, and seeing that, it scared him.

He didn't know he had meant that much to Antonio.

He knew he _liked_ him, but he didn't know that Antonio had liked him _that_ much.

And him telling Antonio that they were just hanging out suddenly seemed like a _huge_ mistake.

Because Antonio had actually thought that they were forming some kind of relationship but Lovino came along and it was like he had crushed it right before Antonio's eyes, unmercifully.

And as they were walking along, Lovino tried to think of a way he could possibly make it up to Antonio.

And that's when he saw it.

Swinging carelessly back and forth at his side was Antonio's hand.

Lovino's eyes widened then.

No.

Not that.

He _couldn't_.

Not with Antonio utterly pissed off and hurt.

But then he realized how much Antonio liked holding his hand, like he had at the aquarium, and briefly, Lovino wondered if he should just go for it.

How bad could it possibly be?

Plus, it _could_ lighten Antonio's mood a bit.

Even if it's just a little.

At least then it could be bearable.

And Antonio couldn't be _too_ mad if Lovino was the first one to initiate contact.

But would he be receptive?

Would he accept Lovino's hand?

Or would he reject it?

If he tried, would Antonio wrench his hand away in anger?

Or would he allow Lovino to hold his hand?

It was too much to think about.

He had to go for it.

He had to at least _try_.

At least he would _know_.

At least he would know where he stood with Antonio.

And to _hell_ with the consequences.

He had to stop being so scared of what might happen.

No time like the present.

And so, finally blushing, Lovino gulped, gathering up his courage and went for it.

Lovino reached down and grabbed up Antonio's hand and held tightly.

And as he held Antonio's hand, Lovino did nothing but stare at the ground, not daring to look over.

Antonio, feeling a sudden warm pressure wrapping around his hand, looked down, instinctively, and saw Lovino's hand in his.

Antonio then looked up in utter confusion at Lovino.

What was he doing?

And Lovino, feeling Antonio's eyes fall upon him, blushed even redder.

But still, Lovino did not dare to look over.

'_Say _something, dammit!' Lovino thought to himself.

As they continued walking, Antonio was still eyeing Lovino, suspiciously.

And, Lovino, feeling the intense gaze, was becoming more and more impatient and more and more embarrassed as time passed without Antonio saying anything.

"What are you doing?" Antonio asked, lowly and suspiciously.

Lovino growled in frustration. "What does it _look_ like I'm doing?" Lovino asked, annoyed.

"Why are you holding my hand?" Antonio asked.

Lovino growled again. "Because I…I…" Lovino stuttered.

"Because you _what_?" Antonio asked, with narrow eyes and harsh tone, clearly annoyed that Lovino would even _try _to hold his hand after what he had just done.

Didn't he tell him to stop trying to act like he cared about him?

Lovino turned towards Antonio then, brow lowered and face red. "Because I _want_ to, ok?" Lovino said, angrily.

Antonio's eyes widened then. "But why?"

"Why?" Lovino asked, angrily. And now, it was _his _turn to yell. "_Why_? Because I've been trying _all_ day to cheer you up and make it up to you after what I did! But you kept shooting me down! I tried small talk. Nothing! Not even a _decent_ reply from you! I tried taking you on rides and not even a _single_ smile! I tried asking you if you were ok, and I offered to sit down and get ice cream if you were hot! But _you_ kept getting mad at everything I did! I was worried about you! I've never seen you so mad before, and I couldn't stand it. It was so unlike you. I even said I was _sorry_, but you didn't even want to _hear _it!" Lovino yelled, before drawing in some much needed air. "I wanted to try and make it up to you after what I said, but I couldn't think of anything, and I couldn't stand you being so mad at me…and this was the only thing I could think of." Lovino said, softly.

By this time, Antonio had stopped walking and just stared at Lovino in shock.

"_Well_?" Lovino asked, impatiently. "Aren't you going to _say _anything?"

Antonio blinked. "Wow. I-I didn't know." he said, softly.

"Yeah, that's right, you _didn't _know! Maybe if you _tried_ to listen to me for once, you _would _have!" Lovino yelled.

"Shh, calm down, ok?" Antonio asked, calmly. "I really didn't know. I just wasn't thinking. I guess I was so mad, I…"

"You _what_?" Lovino said, darkly.

"Look…I'm sorry if I made you feel bad. I was just so mad, I didn't even want to give you a chance. But that's no excuse for yelling at you, when I wouldn't even let you explain yourself." Antonio said, sadly.

Lovino calmed down then.

"So…what do we do now? Do you want to keep going on this date? Oh, wait, I'm sorry…it's not a date anymore." Lovino said, oddly disappointed.

Antonio smiled then and pulled Lovino into his arms. "Of course, I do. We can stay if you want to, ok?" Antonio asked.

Lovino, arms at his sides in Antonio's embrace, nodded into his chest, uttering a muffled, "O-Ok."

Antonio chuckled. "Good. I'm glad."

"Ok, that's enough, you can let go of me now." Lovino said, trying to pry himself from Antonio's grip.

Antonio laughed. "Ok. Now, let's go, we still got a lot of stuff to do!"

"Ok." Lovino said. "B-But…But c-can, c-can I?" Lovino asked, stuttering.

"But can you what?" Antonio asked, walking off excitedly.

Then, finally, Lovino blushed a deep shade of red.

_God, _he _hated_ that he was about to ask this!

"W-Wait!" Lovino yelled, reaching out his hand.

Antonio turned around. "What is it?"

"…C-Can I still hold your hand?" Lovino asked, stuttering, staring at the ground, not wanting Antonio to see him blushing.

Antonio smiled and walked back over to Lovino. "Of course, you can!" Antonio said, grabbing Lovino's hand. "Wow, you really like holding my hand, don't you?" Antonio asked.

Lovino blushed even redder. "Sh-Shut up! I-It's just because I got used to the feeling, that's all!"

Antonio laughed. "Sure it is. Now, let's go!" Antonio said, pulling Lovino along by his hand. "The date is _back _on!" Antonio said, smiling back at Lovino.

And they started walking again, and as they were, Lovino turned his head, blushing with a small smile on his face, not wanting Antonio to see him like this.

It would be too much.

It was one thing for Antonio to know that Lovino was holding his hand.

But it was _another _thing for Antonio to know that Lovino was holding his hand and _smiling_.

God, he would _never _let him live that down.

They walked around, going to different rides and booths, and _this_ time, it was different.

They were actually having _fun_!

There were no awkward silences between them.

Antonio's eyes were no longer storming and he wasn't rigid with anger and hurt anymore.

Lovino wasn't trying, desperately, to make small talk anymore.

And, by God, they were actually having _fun_!

Antonio was even _smiling _and _laughing _again.

Something that Lovino never would have thought he would miss.

It was _definitely _a lot better than the dark and brooding Antonio.

And it was definitely _a lot _easier on Lovino, knowing that Antonio wasn't mad at him anymore.

Because, _God,_ he could _not_ take that intensity anymore!

As they were walking, something caught Antonio's eye.

A giant roller coaster.

"Ooh, Lovi, that looks cool! Come on, let's get on _that_!" Antonio said, pointing to the giant metal structure.

Lovino stopped in his tracks.

"Wh-What?" Lovino stuttered.

"Yeah! It looks fun! Come on, let's go!" Antonio said, pulling Lovino along, impatiently.

"W-Wait! N-No, stop!" Lovino yelled.

"What? What's wrong? You don't want to go?" Antonio asked.

"N-No." Lovino said, softly.

"But why not?" Antonio asked, confused.

"B-Because…I-I don't like roller coasters." Lovino admitted, blushing.

"Aww, what? Come on, Lovi, _everybody_ like roller coasters!" Antonio said, happily.

"Well, I _don't_! I _hate_ them!" Lovino said.

"Why?" Antonio asked.

"Because…they're too high. A-And they go too fast." Lovino said. "Pl-Plus, I can't deal with being upside down."

"Oh, come on, Lovi, it's not _that_ bad!" Antonio explained. "Come on, _please_?" Antonio begged.

"_No_, Antonio! We are _not_ going through this again!" Lovino yelled.

"Aww, come on, Lovi. _Please_? For _me_?" Antonio asked.

"_No_, dammit!" Lovino yelled.

Antonio sighed then. "Come on, let's just go! It'll be ok! Please? Come on, don't make me have to do this." Antonio warned.

Lovino's eyes narrowed menacingly. "Do _what_?" he asked, lowly.

"Make you go on it with me, of course." Antonio said, smiling.

Lovino's eyes widened in disbelief. "_What_? _Make _me?" Lovino asked, incredulously. He then let out a humorless laugh. "_Ha_! If you think you're gonna _make _me get on that thing, you are _sadly_ mistaken!" Lovino said.

Antonio chuckled. "Oh, Lovi." Antonio said, putting his hand on Lovino's shoulder. "You seem to be forgetting how I made you go in the water when we went to the beach."

"By what? Carrying me?" Lovino asked.

"Yep!" Antonio said, cheerfully.

"Oh, _please_!" Lovino said, crossing his arms. "You are _not _going to _carry _me all the way over to that roller coaster."

"I'm seriously thinking about it." Antonio said. "And besides, you and I both know you can't outrun me, so you might as well come quietly."

Lovino rolled his eyes then. "Pffft, the _hell_ you _will_. Well, good luck with _that_!" Lovino said.

Antonio then let out a big sigh. "Alright, Lovi. I didn't want to have to do this. But don't say I didn't warn you."

"Do what?" Lovino said.

And with a scream, Lovino felt himself rise up off the ground and slung over Antonio's shoulder.

"Wh-What? What the _hell _are you doing? Put me down, you bastard!" Lovino yelled, kicking and screaming.

"No. You're _going_ on that roller coaster with me, Lovi." Antonio said, sternly.

"No, go to hell!" Lovino yelled, continuing to struggle. "Help! Somebody, help me! I'm being kidnapped!"

But nobody helped.

All Lovino got were awkward stares and people pointing and giggling as Antonio carried him with a smile on his face.

"Great. Just fucking great! Nice to see that if someone says they're being kidnapped, _no one_ will _help_!" Lovino yelled, accusingly at passersby.

"_Shush_, Lovi!" Antonio said, slapping Lovino's ass. "You're making a scene."

Lovino yelped in surprise, blushing, and craned his neck around. "What the _hell_? Did you just slap my _ass_?" Lovino asked, in disbelief. "Dammit, I told you not to do that! We are _not _together like that!" Lovino screamed.

Antonio laughed and slapped Lovino's ass again. "I told you to stop yelling. Do you _like_ getting spanked, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

Lovino blushed even redder. "Wh-What? _No_, you fucking asshole! Stop doing that!" Lovino yelled.

And sure enough, Antonio slapped Lovino's ass again. "I like this, Lovi! I can touch your butt all I want, since you won't listen to me." Antonio said, laughing.

Lovino didn't even bother to retort because he knew his anger would cause him to yell and every time he yelled, Antonio would slap his ass.

Antonio chuckled. "Now, if you want me to stop, then stop yelling, ok?"

Lovino growled, face red from embarrassment and ass stinging, mumbled, "Ok, dammit, you win. I'll be quiet."

"Good!" Antonio said, cheerfully.

"But can you put me down, please? I can walk by myself, you know." Lovino said.

"Nope!" Antonio said. "I don't trust you. You might try to run away."

"What? No, I won't. We already both know, I can't outrun you, so just put me down already!" Lovino yelled, before clamping a hand over his mouth.

Antonio's hand rose up as he said, "What did I tell you, Lovi? I said no yelling."

"N-No, no! Ok! Ok! I won't yell anymore, I promise!" Lovino pleaded.

"You're still yelling." Antonio warned.

O-Ok! I-I mean…" Lovino said, clearing his throat. "Ok. I won't yell anymore…I _promise_. Just don't touch my ass anymore." Lovino said, trying to stay calm.

"Good!" Antonio said, lowering his hand.

Lovino, seeing his hand fall back down, gave a big sigh of relief.

Antonio chuckled.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you, you fucking asshole?" Lovino asked, darkly.

"Yep! I sure am!" Antonio asked, laughing.

"Bastard." Lovino grumbled, still blushing a deep shade of red and crossing his arms.

A short while later, they were coming up on the roller coaster, and when they were finally safely in line, Antonio let Lovino down.

At least until they were deep enough in the line so that Antonio was sure that Lovino wouldn't run away.

And God, waiting in line slung over Antonio's shoulder like a sack of tomatoes was fucking _awkward_. The people behind them staring was too much.

When the first people got behind them, it was hard not to be the point of interest.

"Hey, how ya doin'?" Lovino asked, smiling and waving awkwardly.

Antonio laughed. "That's good. Making friends, Lovi? A little small talk?" Antonio asked, teasing.

"Shut up." Lovino snapped back, trying not to yell, fearing what would happen if he did.

"So, uhhh…come here often?" Lovino asked, awkwardly.

But the couple just stared back in confusion.

"Yeah, it's uhhh…long story…_really_ long story." Lovino said.

The people stared still.

Lovino stared back, unsure of what to say.

And as he did, he took in the peoples' appearance.

One person what slightly taller with disheveled dirty blond hair, a long black overcoat with red cuffs, black gloves, and red shirt complete with a black tie and a small black hat perched weirdly on his head with bright blue eyes.

The other was shorter and had pale blond hair with a hair clip and a strange curl, purple eyes, a deep blue sailor outfit and an emotionless face.

"Nice uh, coat you got there. Aren't you hot in that thing?" Lovino asked.

"Lovi, don't be rude." Antonio said.

"What? I'm not being rude. I'm just talking to the nice people behind you since you won't put me down." Lovino said.

"I'm just carrying you so you won't run away." Antonio said. "When we get closer, I'll put you down."

Lovino rolled his eyes and turned back around. "This guy." Lovino said, using his thumb to point back at Antonio. "Don't mind him. He's…kind of an idiot."

A step forward.

Oh, God, they were going to be like that for a while.

Lovino continued carrying on with his one-sided conversation.

They were getting close to the entrance.

"I, uh." Lovino said, chuckling, and rubbing the back of his head. "I'm kinda running out of things to talk about here."

God, this was so awkward.

He just wished that Antonio would put him down, already.

Before he says something stupid.

Damn Antonio.

"So, uh, you guys a couple?" Lovino asked, strangely. "I see you're standing kinda close there."

They both looked shocked and blushed a deep red, stepping away from each other, looking in opposite directions.

Too late.

Antonio's eyes widened. "Ok, that's enough!" he said, putting Lovino down. "Lovi, what's wrong with you? You don't ask random people that!" Antonio chided.

"What? I was _bored_! What do you expect me to do? Just stare at them like an idiot? I was over your shoulder, facing the other way, I couldn't exactly stay quiet. I _had_ to explain myself." Lovino said, crossing his arms.

"How does that, turn into to asking them if they are a couple?" Antonio asked.

"I don't know. I was in an awkward situation, what was I supposed to do?" Lovino asked.

Antonio groaned and rolled his eyes before turning around. "I'm so sorry about that! He didn't mean it! He just doesn't know when things are appropriate to say." Antonio apologized, trying to explain himself.

The taller man didn't respond, too embarrassed from the ordeal, while the shorter one responded calmly, "That's ok. Don't worry about it." He then looked over to the other man. "Well? Come on, tell them it's fine." he said, jabbing him in the side with an elbow.

"Yeah…it's cool." he said, still blushing slightly.

When Antonio turned around, his face was red. "Thanks, Lovi."

Lovino smiled then, "You're welcome."

God, the line couldn't go by fast enough, and when they finally reached the entrance, it seemed like hours had passed.

It was too embarrassing.

As they got closer, they were soon the next ones in line.

When the train took off, Lovino was wracked with anxiety because he knew that when the train returned, he would be on the next trip around the track.

He began fidgeting, anxiously.

Antonio, noticing this, asked, "What's wrong?"

"Antonio…I…I _really_ don't want to do this!" Lovino said.

"Oh, come now, Lovi! I told you it'll be fun. And besides, you're in too deep now, so you'll have to ride it whether you like it or not." Antonio said, smiling.

Lovino made a whimpering sound.

He heard the screams of the people on the roller coaster and suddenly, he felt like fainting.

They became louder and louder as the train neared the station and soon, with a rush of air, the train whooshed by and hissed to a stop.

The people got off whooping and cheering and in a good mood, whereas, Lovino was trembling and fearful.

"Well, Lovi!" Antonio said, slapping Lovino on the back. "Looks like we're up! Come on, let's go! And what luck, we got the first seat!"

"Yeah, great." Lovino said, sarcastically.

"Come on, let's go! What are you waiting for, an invitation?" Antonio asked, pushing Lovino forward.

Lovino walked forward, with shaky steps and trembling form.

"Come on, Lovi, get in." Antonio said.

Lovino got in but stood there.

"Come on, sit down." Antonio said, putting his hands on Lovino's shoulders and pushing him down into the seat.

Lovino felt Antonio force him down into the seat.

Chuckling, Antonio sat down next to him.

"This is gonna be so fun!" Antonio said, cheerfully.

Then came the hiss of the bars lowering over their legs.

The person operating the ride made the usual checks to see if they were all secure.

After he checked the car Lovino and Antonio were in, he returned to the control panel and told everyone to enjoy the ride, but not before giving Lovino a mischievous look because as he was checking, he sensed that Lovino was terrified.

And with that, he pressed the start button and the train lurched forward as Lovino let out a startled yelp.

A few seconds later, the train was rattling towards the top of the first drop off.

Lovino looked over at Antonio who was paying no attention to him.

Great.

The ride hadn't even started yet and Antonio was giggling like an idiot.

Lovino looked back around and his eyes widened as he looked down.

Good _God_, they were so high.

The people looked like ants.

Lovino wanted nothing more than to scream 'Stop the ride, stop the ride, I want to get off!'

But it was too late to turn back now.

When they neared the top, Lovino just waited for his stomach to jump into his throat.

He clamped his hands over his eyes in fear before the sensation of falling came.

But it didn't happen.

Weird.

Lovino uncovered his eyes and looked around.

They were there at the top, but they were stuck.

They were just hanging over the edge of the first big drop.

Lovino looked down and instantly felt like throwing up.

Slowly, he began panicking.

What the hell was taking so long?

Were they stuck?

Oh, _God_, if they were stuck, that would be the _worst_!

Lovino was so distraught with anxiety that the time they spent the on the edge seemed like an eternity.

"Uh, A-Antonio, a-are we stuck? Wh-what's going on-ahhhh!" was all Lovino could say before his breath hitched in his throat and was interrupted by the train suddenly barreling over the edge of the first drop off.

As they dropped down, Lovino let out a very shrill scream as he felt like his insides were going to come out and wrapped his arms around something and buried his face in something soft.

As they went along the track, Lovino felt like his body was being thrown about like a rag doll.

Up, down, left, right.

Upside down and even a few corkscrews.

God, it was so terrifying.

It felt like it lasted an eternity.

And then the whooshing of the wind in his hair died down as the train slowed to a stop in the station.

And even though the ride was over and everyone was cheering, Lovino still had his arms wrapped around something and trembling.

Lovino felt a hand rub his head and heard a chuckle.

"Come on, Lovi, the ride's over." said, a familiar voice.

Lovino looked up and saw Antonio smiling down at him.

Lovino's face blushed a deep shade of red as he realized that it was Antonio he was holding onto.

"Come on, let's get off." Antonio said.

Lovino nodded, utterly embarrassed, and got off.

When they got out of the station, they passed by a booth.

And Antonio, noticing this, instantly piped up. "Ooh! Lovi! They have pictures! Come on, let's go look!"

Lovino's eyes widened. "P-Pictures?" Lovino asked, in disbelief.

"Yeah!" Antonio chirped. "Hurry up, and let's go see them!"

Lovino was still in a state of shock as Antonio pulled him along.

When they got there, they waited until their picture came up, and oh, God, their picture was too embarrassing.

There they were, Antonio smiling greatly with Lovino wrapping his arms around him with his face in his shirt, terrified.

God, the heat upon his face was too much.

And to add insult to injury, everybody was looking at it too.

Lovino just wanted to disappear right then and there.

Then all of a sudden a taller form fell in beside him.

Lovino looked over to see that it was the person from before.

The one with the big black coat.

He was looking up at something.

Lovino followed his gaze and, to his horror, saw that he was looking directly at his and Antonio's picture.

More horrible embarrassment.

Then he turned to Lovino gave have him a confident, arrogant smirk. "So are _you_ two a couple? I notice you're hangin' onto him a little tight there." he said, smugly, before letting out a mischievous laugh.

Lovino's face was so hot from embarrassment, he thought he would pass out.

"Hey! _Stop _it!" came a calm, if not slightly stern tone from behind.

They both turned around.

It was the other of the two with the pale blond hair.

His face was calm but his tone clearly indicated that he was annoyed.

"Matthias, what the _hell_ is wrong with you?" he asked, walking over.

"L-Lukas, I-" the person now, identified as Matthias tried to explain before he was cut off.

"Shut up!" Lukas interrupted. "Why do you keep doing this? What did I tell you?" he said, standing before the both of them.

Antonio, hearing the commotion, walked over, curiously.

"What? What did I do?" Matthias asked, confused.

Lukas groaned in frustration. "God, why are you such an idiot?" he asked, rubbing his temples. "You know what you did! Why don't you just let that go, it was just a question!"

"Yeah, but-" Matthias tried to explain.

But Lukas put his hand up, stopping him. "Stop…talking." Lukas then walked over Lovino and Antonio. "Hi, I'm sorry about all of that. We, uh, met before when you were over his shoulder. But as you already heard, I'm Lukas, and this one over here…is Matthias." Lukas said, motioning over to the taller of the two.

"Hi, my name is Antonio. And this is Lovino, I call him 'Lovi' for short." Antonio said, cheerfully.

Lovino sent Antonio a dirty look.

Antonio shrugged.

"It's nice to meet you. I apologize for Matthias. He likes to get even with people who he thinks was disrespectful to him. Even though I _told_ him to stop all of that. Not _everything_ means something." Lukas said, more to Matthias than to anyone else.

Matthias just grumbled and kicked at the ground with his shoe, hands in his pockets.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to disrespectful." Lovino said.

Lukas put a hand up. "Don't worry about it, it's ok. And to answer your question…yes, we are a couple. Although, at this point, I'm not really sure _why_." Lukas said, turning his attention towards Matthias. "I didn't mean to make it awkward when you asked, I just wasn't used to being asked so bluntly like that." he said, turning back around.

"I'm sorry. I say weird things in awkward situations." Lovino admitted.

"It's ok." Lukas assured. "Matthias." Lukas called, turning to the taller man. "Come here."

Matthias walked forward then. "Yeah, what?" he muttered.

Lukas narrowed his eyes. "Apologize." he ordered.

Matthias' eyes widened. "_What_? Why?" he asked.

"Because I said so. You deliberately went against my request when I told you stop trying to get even with people. It's not a good habit." Lukas said, crossing his arms

Matthias growled. "Why should I?" he grumbled.

"I'm not going to ask you again, Matthias. Now, _apologize_!" Lukas ordered again.

Matthias scoffed. "Pffft. Fuck _that_!" Matthias said, coldly.

Lovino was about to tell Lukas to forget about it, but was interrupted by a swift movement.

Lovino and Antonio both saw Lukas reach up and grab Matthias' tie and pull him to his level.

"_Look_, we both know that I can choke you without feeling any concern for your well-being. Do you remember the last time? Yes, of course, you do. So if you don't want that happening again, you'll apologize. _Got_ it?" Lukas said, threateningly.

Matthias nodded gasping for air. "Ok…ok…just…let…me go." Matthias rasped.

"Good. I'm glad we understand each other." Lukas said, before letting go.

Matthias took a big gasp of air and coughed tried to gather himself.

When he was done, he still looked reluctant to apologize.

Lukas looked at him expectantly. "Well? Go on." he urged.

Matthias groaned. "Sorry." he mumbled, unintelligibly.

Lukas yanked Matthias' tie again.

"Ow, ow, _sorry_!" Matthias finally shouted.

Lukas finally let go. "Good. Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Lukas asked.

Matthias rubbed his neck. "Yeah for _you_." he muttered.

Lovino smiled, softly. "It's ok. I accept your apology."

Matthias grumbled.

"Well, we should get going. It was nice meeting you two. Bye." Lukas said, pulling Matthias along with him.

"Bye!" Antonio said, cheerfully. "Wow, they're nice huh, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

Lovino looked at Antonio wide-eyed.

Had he not just seen what just happened?

Lovino was about to say something when he heard a loud smack.

He turned his attention towards the sound.

And what he saw was Matthias rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey, what'd ya do that for?" Matthias asked.

"Because you're an idiot! Why do you _always_ do that? I keep telling you to stop. You don't have to get even all the time!" Lukas yelled. "It was just a question!"

"But he started it!" Matthias whined.

Lukas blinked. "Don't do that. You sound like a little child! God, are you _that_ dense?"

"Hey, no I don't. And I'm _not _an idiot! I'm the _king_, baby!" Matthias said, proudly.

Lukas rolled his eyes. "Yeah, the king of the _idiots_!" he said. "Whatever, I don't have time for this. Let's just go enjoy the rest of the day like we have been. And, God help you, if you pull another stunt like that." Lukas warned.

Antonio laughed. "They're funny."

Lovino looked back at Antonio then. "You're an idiot too, you know."

Lovino's mind then flashed back to Lukas and shivered, remembering his face.

It's not like he was scary.

It's just that even though his tone indicated that he was angry, his face didn't convey that emotion.

It was just an expressionless face.

And that was the thing that scared him the most.

Nice person.

Scary when angered.

"Lovi? Are you ok?" Antonio asked.

Lovino shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Huh? Oh, yeah…I'm ok."

Antonio smiled. "Good. Now, let's go. But not yet. I wanna look at our picture again!"

A short while later, they left the roller coaster site, laughing.

Or at least…Antonio was.

"Oh, Lovi, you should have seen your face! You were so cute when you were screaming like that!" Antonio said.

Lovino grumbled. "Yeah, very funny." Lovino said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I know! Which is why I _bought_ them!" Antonio said.

Lovino's eyes widened in horror. "You _what_?" he nearly shrieked.

"I bought the pictures. See? Look!" Antonio said, fanning out multiple pictures of their ride.

"Give me those!" Lovino yelled, reaching towards the pictures.

"Ah, ah, ah, Lovi. If I do, you'll just rip them up. So, no." Antonio said.

"You're damn right I'm gonna rip them up! Now, give them _here_, dammit!" Lovino shouted.

"Nope! I don't think so!" Antonio said, laughing.

"Give them to me! _Please_! I'm _begging _you!" Lovino pleaded.

"Why?" Antonio asked.

"Because they're _embarrassing_!" Lovino yelled.

"Ah, no they're not! They're nice! And besides, look how cute they are! So, for right now, _I'm_ keeping them." Antonio said, putting the pictures in his pocket.

Lovino groaned. "I swear, you'd _better_ not show those to anybody, you _got_ that?" Lovino said.

"Of course, Lovi." Antonio said. "Now, let's get going!"

They spent a good amount of time walking around and trying different rides, minus any big roller coasters at Lovino's adamant request not to go on one anymore.

They walked around for a while until they came to a stop at a peculiar attraction.

"What is this?" Lovino asked.

"I don't know." Antonio replied.

"Is it a ride?" Lovino asked.

"Doesn't look like it. I think it's one of those walk-through type things." Antonio said.

"Oh." Lovino said.

"Want to go in?" Antonio asked.

"Uh, no. I-I don't think so. It looks kinda scary." Lovino said, getting behind Antonio.

"No, it's not scary. And even if it was, everything is fake. Come on, it looks exciting." Antonio said, walking over.

"No, wait! I don't think we should. Something about this place bothers me." Lovino said.

"Oh, come on, Lovi! You're just being paranoid." Antonio said.

"Yeah, well…better safe than sorry." Lovino retorted.

Antonio sighed. "Lovi…you have nothing to be afraid of. It's completely safe…although…" Antonio said, trailing off.

"Although what?" Lovino asked.

"Well…I _would _tell you but that would only make things worse." Antonio said.

"What? Tell me what?" Lovino asked, pulling on Antonio's shirt.

"No…I shouldn't tell you. Unless…you're absolutely _sure_ you want to know." Antonio said, lowly.

"W-Well. O-Ok then. Tell me." Lovino said.

"Lovi." Antonio said, turning around. "I need you to be sure that you want to know. This is serious. Now, I'm gonna ask you again and I need you to answer truthfully. Do you want to know?" Antonio asked.

Lovino gulped.

What the hell is wrong with Antonio?

He looked into Antonio's eyes and saw that he was being serious.

Goddamn him and his curiosity.

"Y-Yes. I want to know." Lovino said, although he wasn't really sure he wanted to.

"Alright." Antonio began and then rested his hands on Lovino's shoulders. "Well…a long time ago when the carnival came to town, this place was here. It was a popular attraction back then so there were a lot of people going in and out."

Lovino nodded in understanding.

Antonio sighed. "Well…unfortunately, around that time, there was a prison riot and two prisoners escaped. They…were serial killers. Most wanted." Antonio said, solemnly.

Lovino's eyes widened, his heart pounding in his chest.

"They escaped and found refuge in _that_ funhouse." Antonio said, pointing to the attraction. "And since it was so popular, all those unfortunate people were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Lovino felt his legs trembling.

Antonio nodded solemnly. "And I assume you know what happened next." he said.

"Th-They were all…killed?" Lovino said, voice dying at the end.

"Yes." Antonio said. "It was a bloodbath. So many dead bodies and limbs littered the place. So sad."

Antonio's voice was dark.

Lovino thought he was going to faint.

"D-Did anyone s-survive?" Lovino stuttered.

"No. No, survivors. They were all killed." Antonio said.

"D-Did they ever find them? We're they ever caught?" Lovino asked.

Antonio shook his head, slowly. "No…they were never caught. No one knows where they are. In fact, some people say that they are still in there. But no one was brave enough to look. They had the police search the place, but they were never found. People think they left and waited for the search to be over and came back." Antonio said.

"Oh, my God. Those poor people." Lovino said, sadly.

Antonio nodded. "Yeah. I mean, sure, they cleaned out the bodies and all the blood and after a while, people started to return, but it was never the same again. I mean, you _do_ see how there aren't that many people around this place now, right?" Antonio asked.

"Y-Yeah." Lovino said, lowly.

Antonio brought his face closer to Lovino's. "Well, that's why." Antonio said, darkly.

Lovino gulped.

He then started laughing. "Y-You're joking right? Th-There's no serial killers in there!" Lovino said, nervously.

"Whatever you say, Lovi." Antonio said, lowly.

"Wh-Why are you telling me this?" Lovino asked.

"Because we're gonna look for them. And turn them in for what they did." Antonio said.

"Wh-Wha-?" Lovino asked.

"Well? Let's go then!" Antonio said, returning to his original happy state.

Lovino's eyes widened. "What? What, are you crazy? I don't wanna get _killed_!"

Antonio laughed. "Oh, come now, Lovi! It's perfectly safe! I mean, nothing's happened there in _years_! I doubt it's even true! And besides, it looks fun!"

"Come on, Antonio. Let's not do this." Lovino pleaded.

"Come on, Lovi, it'll be fine." Antonio said, grabbing Lovino's hand. "And besides, I'll be right there with you, so you don't have anything to worry about!"

Lovino let out a worried groan as Antonio dragged him closer and closer.

When they got there, all the color drained from Lovino's face.

They stopped in front of the door and there was somebody in the booth next to it.

"Two please." Antonio said.

"Enjoy." The teller said.

Before they went in Antonio whispered something into the man's ear and he smiled greatly.

"Gotcha." he said, with a smirk.

And with that, Antonio pulled Lovino along with him inside the funhouse.

Before they disappeared inside, Lovino heard the man say in a creepy voice, "Have fuuuun. Try not to _die_!"

Lovino whimpered as they were engulfed by darkness.

He could barely see with the dim lights overhead.

Instinctively, Lovino reached out and clutched his fingers into Antonio's shirt and pulled him close.

"It's alright, Lovi. I'm right here." Antonio said, calmly.

But Lovino held fast.

Slowly, they began walking and every loud noise that was made sent Lovino up into the air with fear.

The creepy music that was playing didn't help either.

'Oh, God, what the _hell_ am I _doing _here? Why did I let him talk me into this?' Lovino asked himself.

While Lovino was cowering at Antonio's side, Antonio seemed unfazed by the whole experience.

The time they were there seemed like an eternity.

"Hey, Lovi. I think we should split up. You know, to cover more ground." Antonio said.

"What?" Lovino almost shrieked.

"Yeah, just yell if you see anything." Antonio said.

"You-Y-You're joking right?" Lovino stuttered.

"No." Antonio said, simply. "Now, come on, let's do this." he said, pulling Lovino off of him.

"W-Wait! Antonio! Don't!" Lovino begged.

"Relax, Lovi! Now, you go that way, and I'll go this way. See ya later!" Antonio said, cheerily.

"Stop! Don't do this! We don't have to split up! Let's just go-" Lovino's eyes widened as he saw a shadowy figure appear behind Antonio. "Antonio, behind you!" Lovino yelled, pointing at something behind Antonio.

"What? What are you talking about?" Antonio asked.

He was about to walk forward when all of a sudden, he yelped as a pair of arms wrapped around Antonio and pulled him into the darkness.

"Antonio!" Lovino screamed.

Trembling, Lovino took a shaky step backwards until he bumped into something.

Lovino froze.

That wasn't there before.

Taking a big gulp, Lovino forced himself to turn around and, to his horror, he saw another taller figure staring down at him.

Lovino saw that he had a hockey mask on and a chainsaw in his hand.

Oh, God, it was like he walked into a scary movie.

The man in the mask started up the chainsaw and raised it over his head.

Lovino's cowardly instincts took over and he instantly turned around and bolted the other way, screaming.

"Antonio! Antonio! Where are you?" Lovino called out. "I found him! I found him! Help me!"

But no answer.

Lovino was so focused on running that he didn't see where he was going and tripped.

He landed with a thud and when he turned over, he saw that he was being followed.

"No, please! Don't kill me! I won't tell anyone, I promise!" Lovino begged.

Stumbling to his feet, Lovino tried to run, but he was grabbed by the arm and pulled back.

"Let me go! Get off of me, you bastard!" Lovino yelled.

Snatching his arm back, Lovino took off running again.

This time, Lovino tried taking as many twists and turns and turns as he could, making sure to lose his tail.

Lovino stopped and rested against a wall, panting heavily.

He looked behind him and saw that he was alone.

"Oh, thank God." Lovino panted out. "Where's Antonio? Please don't tell me he got killed."

Deciding that just standing there was too dangerous, Lovino decided to start looking for Antonio.

"Antonio? Antonio, where are you?" Lovino called out, in a hushed voice.

But there was no response.

Lovino's mind wandered.

Oh, God, what if he found Antonio lying in a pool of blood?

Lovino tried not to think about it and pushed the image from his head.

It seemed like he had been there for hours because he couldn't even find the exit.

Rounding corner after corner, Lovino still didn't see any sign of Antonio.

A loud noise made Lovino jump up in fright.

Oh, God, did they find him?

Lovino picked up his pace as he walked quickly, looking around for Antonio.

He was getting desperate.

Then as he rounded a corner, Lovino bumped into something.

"Ow! Hey, watch where you're going!" Lovino yelled. "Wait! Antonio…is that you?" Lovino asked, reaching out and touching something. "Antonio, where have you been?"

No response.

"Hello?" Lovino asked.

Lovino was about to pull Antonio towards him until the figure walked forward into the dim light, revealing that it wasn't Antonio.

It wasn't even the man in hockey mask.

It was someone else.

This one had a creepy looking mask that was pale and white.

And Lovino saw that this one was wielding a huge butcher knife.

Or at least he _did _have a butcher knife.

Where did it go?

"It's you! Wh-What the hell did you do with Antonio?" Lovino asked, yelling.

The man didn't answer.

"Oh, God, you _killed_ him didn't you, you bastard?" Lovino yelled.

When he didn't get a response, Lovino backed away, before turning around and running for his life.

Running around for what seemed like hours, Lovino finally saw a bright light.

Sunshine.

Laughing desperately, Lovino felt like the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders.

Maybe Antonio was outside, waiting for him, and talking to the police.

He got closer to the exit.

He would be out of that nightmarish place soon enough.

Closer.

He would have a long talk with Antonio for almost getting him killed.

Closer.

He would _live_.

So close, he was almost there.

And then suddenly, something staggered out into his path.

Lovino, too excited, didn't pay attention and crashed into the figure with a grunt.

"Ow!" Lovino said, rubbing his nose before looking up.

His eyes widened.

"A-Antonio?" Lovino said, breathlessly.

"L-Lovi." Antonio said, smiling, despite his shallow breathing. "You made it. I thought I lost you. But you're ok."

"Antonio?" Lovino asked. "A-Are you ok?"

"Yeah…of course, I am. Never better." Antonio said.

Antonio then let out a pained groan.

"Wait what happened to you? What happened?" Lovino asked.

"N-Nothing, Lovi…I'm fine." Antonio said. "Just promise me you'll go on and remember me."

"What? Remember you? What for?" Lovino asked.

Antonio opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a coughing fit.

When he looked up, Lovino saw that there was blood dripping from his mouth.

His eyes widened. "Antonio?" Lovino asked, desperately. "Are you ok?"

There were loud footsteps from behind which made Lovino turn around.

It was the two killers.

Lovino turned back around. "Come on, Antonio! Let's get out of here!" Lovino said, desperately.

"No. J-Just leave me here. I-I'll take care of them." Antonio said.

"No, Antonio, I'm not leaving! We can still get out of here!" Lovino yelled.

The killers got closer.

"Run…Lovi." Antonio said, before finally collapsing and falling on top of Lovino.

"Antonio! G-Get up! Come on, they're almost here!" Lovino yelled, desperately.

Lovino wrapped his arms around Antonio to try to get from under him, but he felt something.

Something cold and hard.

Lovino craned his neck and went pale-faced.

Because what he saw, plunged into Antonio's back, was a knife.

Lovino's mind then flashed back to when Antonio was grabbed.

"Oh, no. H-He stabbed you?" Lovino stuttered.

Looking behind them, Lovino saw that the killers were making their way ever closer.

And then, with a sudden burst of adrenaline, Lovino got from under Antonio, careful of the knife, and started dragging Antonio's limp body toward the exit.

"God, Antonio. You're so fucking heavy!" Lovino said, through clenched teeth.

A few seconds later, they were outside.

But the killers didn't follow.

They stayed inside, careful of being seen.

Once they were safely out of harm's way, Lovino held Antonio in his arms, being careful not to push the knife deeper.

"A-Antonio…are you ok? Do you need anything?" Lovino asked.

Antonio chuckled. "Yeah, I'm ok. As long as I'm with you, I'm fine." Antonio said.

"But you need medical attention!" Lovino yelled.

"No…No, Lovi, it's ok. It's no use. By the time they get here…I'll be gone." Antonio said.

"D-Don't say that!" Lovino yelled. "You'll be ok!"

Antonio chuckled. "Lovi, you and I both know I won't be ok. Just promise to remember me, ok?' Antonio asked. "That's all I ask."

"Sh-Shut up! Shut up! Stop saying that!" Lovino screamed.

"Lovi. Stop." Antonio said, putting a finger over Lovino's mouth. "You'll just tire yourself out."

Lovino didn't say anything.

"Hey, Lovi?" Antonio called.

"Y-Yeah?" Lovino replied, voice low.

"C-Can I ask you something?" Antonio asked.

"Wh-What is it?" Lovino asked.

"Can you hug me? Just once…before I go?" Antonio asked.

What could he do?

He couldn't just deny a dying man's wish.

"S-Sure. O-Ok." Lovino said, tears forming in his eyes.

And with that, Lovino wrapped his arms around Antonio's torso and buried his head into his shoulder.

"Thanks…Lovi." Antonio whispered.

He then went limp in Lovino's arms.

Lovino pulled back. "Antonio? Antonio? Oh no, someone help!" Lovino screamed.

Where is everybody?

Lovino turned back to Antonio. "No. Nooo." Lovino moaned, burying his face into Antonio's shirt.

The tears that threatened to fall were now coming down.

Lovino's was shaking with small sobs.

Oh, God, _why_ was he so _stupid_?

Why didn't he try harder to talk him out of it?

He should have tried harder.

If he did, Antonio would still be alive.

But now he was gone.

Then all of a sudden Antonio's body started convulsing.

Lovino pulled back, eyes wide.

What, was he seizing from blood loss?

That meant he was still alive!

"Oh, God, someone help! Help! HELP!" Lovino screamed.

Lovino was interrupted by a long intake of breath.

He looked down and saw that Antonio was not seizing, but shaking from laughter.

Actually, that was an understatement.

Cracking up was more accurate.

"Wh-Wha-?" was all Lovino could say.

"Oh, man, Lovi, I got you good!" Antonio said, between fits of laughter.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Lovino asked.

"It was all a joke!" Antonio finally admitted.

"A-A _joke_?" Lovino nearly shrieked.

"Yeah! You should have seen the look on your face! It was so priceless!" Antonio said. "I didn't think I'd get you to cry though." Antonio added, as an afterthought.

"Wh-What? A-Are you serious?" Lovino asked.

"Oh, man, Lovi. You are so _easy_!" Antonio said.

"What? You bastard! Do you know what I had to deal with back there? I thought I was going to-" Lovino was cut off by laughter coming from another direction.

Lovino looked over towards the sound and saw two people coming out of the funhouse.

Lovino was about to get up and run, but the two people pulled off the masks, laughing loudly.

"Oh, my God! Dude, that was so cool!" said a person with blond hair and glasses.

"Ja, I know that was fuckin' awesome! He was cryin' like a little bitch!" said the other person with silver hair and red eyes.

They then slapped hands.

"Hey, Antonio! Good one, man!" said the one with glasses and wide blue eyes.

"I know! Best prank ever!" Antonio said, smiling.

"W-Wait. S-So, it was all fake?" Lovino asked.

"Of course it was, Lovi. You don't think I'd do all that stuff for real, do you?" Antonio asked.

The silver-haired one laughed, loudly. "Look at him! He's still shaking!" he pointed out.

Lovino narrowed his eyes. "Bastards." Lovino said, lowly.

Everyone was laughing but him.

"Hey, dude, that knife is still in your back. Take it out before people freak." the blond reminded.

"Oh, yeah." Antonio said, reaching back and taking the prop off, before waving it in Lovino's face. "Ooh, look, Lovi. A knife." Antonio said, creepily. "See, look, it's fake!" Antonio said, pushing the blade into the handle. "Collapsible."

Lovino blinked. "B-But you're _bleeding_!" Lovino yelled.

Antonio laughed again. "Nope! See, look!" Antonio said, reaching into his pocket and pulled out small red objects.

"What are those?" Lovino asked, eyeing the red circles.

"They're fake blood capsules. You put them in your mouth, bite down, and _bam_, it looks like you're bleeding!" Antonio said, demonstrating.

"That's disgusting." Lovino said, darkly.

"Disgusting but worth it!" Antonio said.

Lovino was absolutely speechless.

They all burst into laughter, minus Lovino, of course.

"Oh, mein Gott! That was worth the day off!" said the silver haired one.

Lovino then sent Antonio a dirty look.

He then raised his hand up and brought it down, slapping Antonio, harshly across the face.

Everything went quiet.

Antonio held his reddened cheek and looked up at Lovino in shock.

"Asshole." Lovino said, darkly, before getting up and storming off.

"Lovi, wait!" Antonio called after Lovino.

When Antonio caught up, Lovino pushed him away. "No! Go talk to your friends! You obviously have a lot to talk about!" Lovino yelled.

"Look, I just want to thank them and then we can go, ok?" Antonio asked.

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Whatever." he said.

And with that, Antonio went back to talk to his friends.

Lovino waited, impatiently, as Antonio talked and laughed with his friends.

A while later, Antonio came back, waving them off with a smile. "Bye! See you guys later!"

"Yeah, man! We should do that again sometime!" the blond called back.

"Ja, call me next time you wanna do another awesome prank!" called the silver-haired one.

"You bet I will!" Antonio called back.

Lovino, impatient, walked off, leaving Antonio.

"Huh? Lovi, wait!" Antonio said.

"Leave me alone!" Lovino said. "I can't believe you would do something like that!"

"What's wrong, Lovi? You didn't like it?" Antonio asked.

Lovino looked at Antonio incredulously. "Are you serious? _Of course_, I didn't like it!" Lovino yelled.

"But it was funny. Why not?" Antonio asked.

"Because I thought you _died_!" Lovino yelled. "Do you know how _scared_ I was?"

"I'm sorry, Lovi. I didn't think you'd believe it." Antonio said.

"Yeah? Well, I _did_!" Lovino yelled. "I blamed myself for your death. I thought if I tried harder to talk you out of it, you wouldn't have died! But now, I see that that was all a lie." Lovino said, lowly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Antonio said.

"Yeah, right. I _told_ you not to keep playing jokes on me like that!" Lovino yelled.

"Oh, come on, you know how much I like to joke around." Antonio said.

"Yeah. I know that _all_ too well." Lovino said, lowly, rolling his eyes. "You and your stupid friends almost _killed _me! And who was that bastard who thought it would be a great idea to use a _working_ chain saw in a prank?"

"Oh, that's just Alfred and Gilbert. They're harmless. And that might have been Alfred. I'm sorry about that. I tried to talk him out of it, saying that it was too risky, but he said, that it would be more authentic and scary. And in his defense, it really was. I mean, you _were_ scared, weren't you?" Antonio asked.

Lovino growled and rolled his eyes.

A long silence between them as they walked.

"Lovi, you look hungry. Come on, let's go eat." Antonio said, pulling Lovino to a nearby food stand.

"No! I don't want to eat! I'm not hungry!" Lovino said, although he now felt hungry now that Antonio had mentioned it.

So, secretly hungry, Lovino let himself be pulled along without any resistance.

"Sit here and I'll go get something." Antonio said, motioning to a seat.

Lovino sat down and waited.

A short while later Antonio returned with something that looked like a type of pastry.

"Have you ever had a funnel cake before, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

Lovino shook his head. "No." Lovino said.

"Well, you are gonna love it. They're so good!" Antonio said.

And with that, Antonio picked up a piece of the treat with a fork and placed it in front of Lovino's mouth.

Lovino shot Antonio another dirty look. "I can feed myself, you know." Lovino said. "Give me the fork."

"No." Antonio said. "Just take a bite. _Then_ I'll give you the fork."

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Fine." Lovino said, before taking a bite.

"Well?" Antonio said, expectantly.

"Yeah. It's good, I guess." Lovino said.

"Good!" Antonio said, smiling. "Now here, take another bite."

Antonio picked up another piece of the funnel cake and fed it to Lovino.

Lovino took another bite.

And then another.

And then another.

And pretty soon, Antonio was feeding Lovino.

Lovino probably forgot that Antonio said he could feed himself after the first bite.

Hell, he didn't even notice that Antonio had snaked an arm around his waist and pulled him closer.

Pretty soon, he was done with the treat.

"Hey. Aren't _you_ going to eat anything?" Lovino asked.

"No, I'm not hungry. I ate earlier." Antonio said.

"Earlier? When? I didn't see you get anything to e- oh, God, you _didn't_!" Lovino said, eyes widening with realization.

"What?" Antonio asked.

"You bastard! You mean you _left_ me in that damn funhouse while you went to eat?" Lovino said, in disbelief.

"What? It wasn't like I left you and never came back. It wasn't even that long. Plus, I was hungry, soooo, yeah." Antonio said.

"You bastard." Lovino said.

"Oh, come on, Lovi, I'm sorry." Antonio apologized.

"You're a fucking idiot." Lovino said, lowly.

"Wow, it's starting to get late." Antonio said, looking up at the darkening sky. "Ok, look, Lovi, tell you what, how about I make it up to you?" Antonio asked.

"How?" Lovino asked, uninterested in how Antonio planned on making it up to him.

"Just come with me and I'll show you." Antonio said, grabbing Lovino's hand.

Pulling Lovino up, Antonio led him over to a giant Ferris wheel and got in line.

"A Ferris wheel? What for?" Lovino asked.

Antonio turned towards Lovino, smiling. "You'll see." he said.

"Oh, great. More mystery." Lovino said.

A short while later, they were next in line, ready to get on.

Before they got on, however, Antonio walked over and whispered something to the person operating the ride. The man nodded and smiled.

Oh, God, that meant that Antonio was definitely planning something.

Antonio then waved Lovino over and motioned for him to get into the cabin.

Lovino got in first and Antonio followed after and shut the door.

They went all around as more and more people got on.

Soon, they began going all around with no stops.

When they got to the top, Lovino's eyes widened.

Wow, they were so high.

And the scenery was absolutely _beautiful_!

"So…" Lovino began. "All that…was…fake? It was all just a joke?" Lovino asked.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, it was just a joke." Antonio said, smiling.

"But… if it was a joke then why was that place deserted like you said?" Lovino asked.

"Oh, that?" Antonio asked. "Well, it's the wrong time of year, I guess. It's not really the time when people are looking for a good scare."

"So…no serial killers?" Lovino asked.

"Nah." Antonio said, chuckling. "Man, I still can't believe how scared you were. I didn't expect you to cry over me. That was really something."

Lovino grumbled. "Don't flatter yourself. It wasn't for _you_. It was just because I thought I would die." Lovino said, lowly. "I'm still pissed off at you though."

Antonio laughed. "Well, I'm sorry, Lovi. I didn't mean to scare you like that. It was just supposed to be a harmless joke."

"Yeah, well…to be honest, I probably deserved it. After what I said before." Lovino said.

"Huh? What did you say?" Antonio asked.

"You know, earlier today, when I said we were just hanging out? I didn't really mean it like that. It came out all wrong." Lovino said.

"Oh…that. No, it's ok. I guess I took it too hard." Antonio said.

"Oh yeah…and I'm sorry about slapping you. I was just pissed off." Lovino said, blushing slightly.

Antonio laughed. "No, it's ok. I guess I kinda deserved it for yelling at you like that without giving you a chance to explain yourself." Antonio said.

"Yeah, I guess." Lovino said.

After a short while the Ferris wheel slowed down and stopped with them at the very top.

The cabin rocked back and forth and they slowed to a stop.

"Huh?" Lovino said. "We stopped. Antonio, what's going on?"

"Nothing. We just stopped." Antonio said, simply.

"But why?" Lovino asked.

"You'll see." Antonio said.

Lovino gave an agitated groan. "Oh, come on, not _this_ again!" Lovino said.

"Just be patient, Lovi. You'll see that all this will be worth it." Antonio said.

They waited like that at the top of the Ferris wheel for a short while.

Then, suddenly, a cool breeze picked up.

Lovino shivered.

"Hey, are you cold, Lovi?" Antonio asked. "I can warm you up."

"No, thanks." Lovino said. "Besides, it's a closed cabin, I'll be fine." Lovino said, wrapping his arms around himself in an attempt to warm himself up.

"Yeah, but we're still pretty high up. It can get pretty cold up here." Antonio warned.

"Yeah, whatever. I'll take my chances, thank you." Lovino said.

Another cool breeze, colder and stronger this time, blew across the cabin.

And Lovino shivered even more.

"Come on, Lovi, don't be like that. Look how much you're shivering. You're freezing." Antonio said, getting worried.

"N-No, I'm n-not. I-I t-told you, I-I'm ok." Lovino said, shaking.

Antonio let out a sigh. "Nonsense. Come here, Lovi." Antonio said, wrapping his arms around Lovino and pulling him closer.

After a while, Lovino stopped shivering.

"See? Now, isn't that better? It's better, isn't it? Come on, tell me." Antonio said, smiling.

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Look, I'm only doing this because it's so cold and no one can see us. I would _never_ do this under any other circumstances, you got that?" Lovino said.

"Yeah, I got it." Antonio said.

And they sat like that for a while, Lovino in Antonio's arms.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Lovino asked.

"Yep!" Antonio said, cheerfully.

Lovino blushed, slightly.

"I really _am _sorry." Lovino said, softly.

"Hmm? Sorry for what?" Antonio asked.

Lovino paused for a while, before continuing. "For what I said about us just hanging out earlier today." Lovino said.

Antonio tightened his grip on Lovino then.

"I said it's ok, Lovi. You know, you don't have to keep apologizing. If anything, _I'm_ the one who should be apologizing. I shouldn't have yelled at you like I did. So, _I'm_ sorry, ok? Don't worry about feeling bad because of what you said." Antonio said.

Lovino blushed even redder because the closer Antonio held him, the more Lovino took in his scent.

_God_, Antonio just smelled so _good_!

Every breath that Lovino took was filled with Antonio's scent.

His cologne was so alluring.

What kind of cologne did he wear?

It was so intoxicating.

And Lovino could have fell asleep right there, if he wasn't interrupted by the carnival music shutting off and a loud voice came in over the speakers.

"Everyone, please turn your attention to the water. The firework show will begin in five minutes. Repeat, the fireworks show will begin in five minutes. So everyone please find a place to sit and enjoy the show." the voice said, before cutting off and resuming the lilting carnival music.

Lovino looked up at Antonio then. "Fireworks?" Lovino asked. "There's gonna be fireworks?"

Antonio smiled. "Yeah, of course there are!" he said, cheerfully.

"Wait, so, was that why you whispered to that man? To tell him to stop us at the top? To be at the top for the show?" Lovino asked, confused.

Antonio beamed. "Yep!" Antonio said. "Guilty!"

"So, that's what you were doing." Lovino said.

"Yeah! See? I told you I'd make it up to you, didn't I?" Antonio asked.

Lovino blushed slightly. "Y-Yeah, w-well. That all depends on how good the show is." Lovino said.

"Oh, trust me, Lovi, it's good. I don't think I ever seen so many bright colors at once!" Antonio said.

Lovino didn't say anything.

He just waited for the fireworks to start up.

He then felt Antonio's grip tighten on him yet again.

And, without a second thought, as if his body reacted on his own, Lovino took another deep breath of Antonio's scent and shuddered.

God, he just couldn't stop.

And then another.

And then another.

Until, finally, the loud voice came back, announcing the start of the fireworks show.

"Look, Lovi! It's starting!" Antonio said.

"Huh? What?" Lovino said.

"Look!" Antonio said, excitedly.

And there it was, the first rocket, barreling up towards the sky.

Three.

Two.

One.

_Boom_!

The rocket exploded into a brilliant flash of white light.

And since they were at the very top of the Ferris wheel, it was like they could touch it.

Then came three or four more, each one a different color.

Red.

Blue.

Green.

Yellow.

_Boom_!

_Boom_!

_Boom_!

_Boom_!

Lovino looked at them in awe.

More magnificent colors lit up the sky.

All the colors of the rainbow and then some.

It was so beautiful.

A short while later the fireworks stopped, which left Lovino disappointed.

"What? That's it?" Lovino said, in disbelief. "Th-That _can't_ be it!"

"Just wait, Lovi. It's not over yet." Antonio said.

Lovino was about to say something when all of a sudden, a flurry or rockets shot up towards the sky and exploded in an amazing mixture of bright, brilliant colors.

It was so bright, Lovino had to shield his eyes from the bright light.

That was it.

They were witnessing the finale.

And it was _wondrous_!

When they light and noise died down, the cheers of the people from below could be heard.

"Wow." Lovino said, awestruck. "That was amazing!"

Antonio laughed. "See? I told you, Lovi!" Antonio said. "It was good, wasn't it?"

Lovino nodded. "Yeah…it was." he said.

"I told you it would be good. See, I told you you should start listening to me more!" Antonio said.

Lovino blushed and shrugged.

After a short while, the Ferris wheel began moving again.

They went around a few more times before finally stopping and getting off.

As they waited for their turn to exit, Antonio sighed. "Wow, this was so great." he said.

"Yeah. It was ok." Lovino said.

Antonio smiled. "I know you had a good time, Lovi, so you can stop pretending like you were only half interested." Antonio said.

"Whatever. Shut up." Lovino said.

When it was finally time for them to get off, Antonio opened the door and motioned for Lovino to go before him.

As they got off the ramp leading up to the ride, Antonio quickly flashed the operator a thumbs up.

The operator gave Antonio a thumbs up back and smiled.

"Well, Lovi. It's getting dark. Shall I take you home then?" Antonio asked. "I want to go before the rush comes. The carnival will be closing soon."

"Ok." Lovino said.

They walked towards the carnival entrance and out to the parking lot.

And to think they had entered on such bad terms, it was hard to believe that they had exited feeling better.

It seemed like that was so long ago.

Lovino got in the car first and stretched, yawning.

Antonio got in next. "You tired, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah, a little bit." Lovino replied.

"Well, we're gonna be in here for a while. So, you can go to sleep if you want. I'll wake you when we get to your house." Antonio said.

"But what about you? Aren't you tired?" Lovino asked.

Antonio laughed. "Nah, not really. With all the coffee I drink, I can go for hours." Antonio said, smiling.

"Ok then. Well, just don't overdo yourself." Lovino said.

"Oh, relax, Lovi! I got this!" Antonio said.

And with that, Antonio started up the car and pulled out of the parking lot, heading towards the freeway.

All the while home, Lovino tried his best to stay awake and not leave Antonio all alone because he was worried that Antonio might fall asleep at the wheel and they could get into a serious wreck.

But the allure of sleep was too much.

He felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier with each blink of his eyes.

Until finally, after about an hour, Lovino could fight it no more and fell asleep, leaning against the window.

He didn't know when he had fallen asleep.

He didn't even know how he lasted an hour at that.

All he knew was that he had dozed off.

And he had left Antonio all alone.

Oh no.

Poor Antonio.

He doesn't have anyone to talk to.

Hopefully, he won't fall asleep.

Oh, God, _please_ don't fall asleep.

He didn't need to be in the hospital right now.

God knows Feliciano would be fussing over him and wouldn't let him rest.

That would be unbearable.

"Hey…Lovi, wake up." Antonio said, shaking Lovino.

"Huh? What?" Lovino mumbled, sleepily.

"Wake up, we're almost there." Antonio said.

Lovino's eyes opened and he sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"How long was I out?" Lovino mumbled.

"About an hour or so. Maybe more." Antonio said.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go to sleep on you. I was just tired." Lovino said, apologizing.

Antonio chuckled. "No, it's ok, Lovi. It was a pleasant quiet. Plus, I liked watching you sleep. You looked so cute and innocent." Antonio said.

Lovino blushed and looked away. "S-So, how far away are we?" Lovino asked, looking out the window.

"Uh, I'd say a few minutes. Maybe ten." Antonio said.

"Oh." Lovino said.

"I had a great time today." Antonio said.

"Yeah, me too, I guess. Aside from that little joke you pulled on me." Lovino said.

"I said I was sorry, Lovi. What do you want me to do, prank myself?" Antonio asked.

"That'll do it." Lovino said.

"Oh, come on, Lovi. Don't be like that. Let's just enjoy the time we have left together, ok?" Antonio asked.

"Whatever." Lovino said, crossing his arms.

A short while later, Lovino's house was in sight.

Antonio pulled up to the curb and shut the car off.

"Well, Lovi. This is your stop." Antonio said.

"Thanks, I didn't know that." Lovino said, sarcastically.

Lovino then got out of the car with Antonio getting out as well.

They walked up the steps, with Antonio escorting as usual.

Lovino still had no idea why Antonio insisted on doing this.

There weren't _that_ many steps.

But he wouldn't argue, knowing that Antonio wouldn't take no for an answer.

"I had a lot of fun today, Lovi." Antonio said, as they got to the door. "I think that might have been the best date ever!" Antonio said.

Lovino rolled his eyes. "You say that on every date we've ever been on." Lovino said. "Just pick one."

"Of course, I do! And I can't. Every date I've ever been on with you is always better than the last. You know why?" Antonio asked.

Lovino groaned. "Why?" he asked.

"Because I get to spend more time with you." Antonio said, bringing his face closer to Lovino's as he lowered his voice.

Lovino blushed. "Shut up." Lovino said, pushing Antonio away from him.

"But it's _true_!" Antonio said.

"Whatever." Lovino said.

And with that, Antonio turned around and walked down the steps.

But before he began descending, Lovino called after him.

"W-Wait!" Lovino said.

"What is it?" Antonio said, turning around.

Lovino paused for a minute before speaking. "I-I'm still really sorry I made you feel that way after what I said." Lovino said.

Antonio sighed before walking over and placing his hands on Lovino's shoulders.

"Lovi, I told you to stop apologizing. I said it's ok." Antonio said.

"B-But I-" Lovino said before Antonio put a finger to his lips.

"Shh. Stop it, Lovi. Stop apologizing. You don't have to worry about me feeling bad about that anymore. Now, I don't want to hear you apologize about that again, ok?" Antonio asked.

Lovino nodded.

"Good!" Antonio said, taking his finger from Lovino's lips.

And with that, Antonio headed down the steps.

When he got to the bottom, Antonio turned back around and looked up at Lovino.

Lovino stared back. "What?" Lovino asked.

"_Weeeell_?" Antonio asked.

"Well, what?" Lovino asked.

"Did I make it up to you or not?" Antonio asked, hands behind his back.

Lovino blushed again. "Y-Yeah…" Lovino mumbled.

"What's that? I can't hear you, Lovi! Did I make it up to you?" Antonio asked again.

"Yes! You _did_!" Lovino said, blushing, reluctant to admit that Antonio indeed had.

Antonio giggled. "Good. I'm glad." Antonio said, smiling greatly.

Lovino rolled his eyes and opened his front door, stepping inside.

Antonio headed for his car.

And as he got to the driver's side, he looked up and smiled. "Goodnight, Lovi. I'll see you tomorrow." Antonio said, warmly.

Lovino stepped further inside the house. "O-Ok. G-Goodnight." Lovino said, smiling back, although, Antonio couldn't see it because Lovino was covering his mouth as he held the door open.

And with that, Antonio got inside his car and Lovino closed the front door.

God, this was becoming like a ritual.

A few minutes later, Lovino heard Antonio start up his car and pull off.

After leaning on the door for a few minutes, Lovino let out a deep sigh and pushed himself off of the door and walked towards his room.

Just as he walked past the living room, he heard soft mumbling.

Following the sound, Lovino found Feliciano curled up on the couch, asleep while clutching a pillow.

Yawning, Lovino walked over to the couch and woke the sleeping Feliciano.

"Hey. Wake up. Come on, it's time to go to bed." Lovino said, shaking his brother's sleeping form.

"Hmm?" Feliciano said, sleepily. "Lovino? Is that you?" he asked.

"Yeah. It's me. Come on, get up, and let's go." Lovino said.

"Ok." Feliciano said, rubbing his eyes. "You came home later than usual. I was so worried. What happened?" Feliciano asked.

"I…lost track of time. Sorry." Lovino apologized. "Come on, let's go. You're obviously still sleepy." Lovino said, leading Feliciano towards the bedroom.

Feliciano mumbled a response and followed, leaning against Lovino for support since he still had his eyes closed.

"I thought you weren't going to come home. I tried to wait, but I fell asleep." Feliciano mumbled.

"Well, you could have just gone to bed. You don't have to wait up for me, you know." Lovino said.

"Yeah…but I don't like going to bed alone. It's scary. And sometimes I get nightmares." Feliciano said.

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Ok. Whatever. Just don't push yourself." Lovino said.

"Ok." Feliciano said.

And with that, they reached the bedroom.

Lovino didn't even feel like getting ready for bed because he was so tired.

Apparently, Feliciano felt the same.

But they did, nonetheless.

So, taking their clothes off and going to the bathroom, they prepared for bed.

A few minutes later, they walked out of the bathroom and practically collapsed on the bed.

As soon as Feliciano's head hit the pillow, he was out like a light, snoring softly.

Lovino stayed awake for a while, thinking about all he's been through since he met Antonio.

Sure, he's been through a lot, and not all of it good, but there was still something there.

His life had certainly been refreshed after he had met the happy-go-lucky Antonio.

That was definitely a good thing.

His life wasn't boring anymore.

Not with the unpredictable Antonio in his life now.

The best part was that nobody knew about any of it.

It was just his little secret.

He then got a warm feeling inside.

A feeling he liked.

Oh yeah, he could get used to this.

Looking over, Lovino pulled the blankets from under Feliciano and covered themselves in the warm, heavy quilt.

Lovino adjusted himself and settled down into the bed.

"Antonio." Lovino whispered with a blush and a small smile on his face.

And with that, Lovino turned over and fell asleep.

* * *

Whew! Now, _that _was a long chapter! I didn't even know that it would even be this long! I guess that just shows how much fun I had with this chapter. I was really looking forward to writing this one and I'm glad I finally got to this one!

P.S. A lot of character introductions in this chapter, huh? I'm sure that a lot of you know the couple I was referring to in the roller coaster scene. Now, as to why I put Matthias and Lukas in here, I have absolutely have no idea why. I guess it just struck me like inspiration. Alfred and Gilbert on the other hand, I had already planned to have in there in the first place. They seemed to be the perfect people who would do that to someone lol. On another note, scary Lukas, huh? After reading up on him, I saw that he choked Matthias, so that's where that part came from. I hope I portrayed the both of them accurately seeing as I've never really seen them in anything other than pictures and not the show yet. But, I think I did pretty well. Anyway, please read and review and tell me what you liked about this one. And look forward to the next chapter! =).


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Hello again, everyone. The next chapter is here and, surprisingly, a lot sooner than previous chapters. Although I would have released this chapter earlier, I was sick at the time so I couldn't. And I wanted to be in the right state of mind before I got started writing again. But now, I'm glad to say that I'm feeling a lot better now. So I'll be able to get started writing again! Yay for you all! And yay for me too because I get to have fun writing again.

**Note :** Ok, so, I finally saw Denmark and Norway in Hetalia and I think I was pretty accurate. Although I was more accurate with Denmark in personality, I was a bit off on Norway partly because I didn't expect him to have such a deep voice. However, I did get the whole emotionless aspect of him; it was just the voice that threw me off. And just so you know, I watched a dub clip (I don't think they released it yet) and not the subbed version (I don't watch subs unless I have to, so…yeah).

**KirishimaYui : **Omg! You have absolutely NO idea how much that means to me! I honestly thought that it would be too cheesy and corny. You just took a big load off of my shoulders. Now I know to just stop worrying about it and just write what I feel. Thank you so much! And lol, Antonio has a way with words which is probably what lead Lovino to believe him.

**Rhee-chan :** Hi, again! Thanks for your positive words! And yes, Antonio can be quite scary if you upset him, lol. And lucky for you and everybody else, this chapter is coming a lot quicker.

Also, long chapter ahead! And with all that said, chapter 9 starts now!

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Morning came, and Lovino was still in his bed, fast asleep.

The long day yesterday and the terrifying prank Antonio and his stupid friends pulled took a lot out of him.

He could have slept all day if he didn't have to go out with Antonio today.

And if he didn't smell something coming from the kitchen.

Lovino woke up, still having his eyes closed, and furrowed his brow, taking in the smell.

He took a few quick sniffs and made a confused face.

And then finally, sitting up and opening his eyes, Lovino looked around in confusion, smelling the air.

When he finally realized what he was smelling, Lovino looked towards the direction it was coming from.

There was the smell of something wafting from the kitchen.

Someone was cooking.

Then, taking a deep breath of the smell, Lovino shuddered in hunger as his stomach growled, loudly.

Oh yeah, that's right.

He had only had a funnel cake in the middle of the day yesterday and no dinner since he was so tired.

And so, jumping out of bed, Lovino rushed to get his clothes on because he was _so hungry_!

Once he was fully clothed, Lovino scrambled down the stairs and as he did so, the smell became intensely more powerful and he started salivating.

Walking briskly to the kitchen, Lovino rounded the corner into the threshold and saw Feliciano cooking.

Feliciano, noticing Lovino, looked up and smiled.

"Hi, Lovino. Good morning to you!" Feliciano said, happily.

Lovino swallowed and wiped his mouth before speaking. "G-Good morning. Wh-What _is_ all this?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano quirked an eyebrow in confusion before realizing what Lovino was talking about. "O-Oh, this? I'm making breakfast! I didn't think you'd be up this early. Then again, I did start a bit late." Feliciano said.

"Hm. It woke me up." Lovino said, muttering.

Feliciano giggled. "Yeah! I kinda thought it would, since it's hot and fresh and you didn't eat dinner last night! Luddy's not even here yet, so I thought I'd get started before he gets here. Although he did call me and told me not to make anything since he had already eaten, so I guess this is for you and me." Feliciano said.

Lovino looked down at the food that Feliciano was cooking and the food that was already laid out.

Waffles, eggs, sausage, bacon, pancakes, and biscuits.

All hot and steamy.

Lovino's mouth started watering up again as he took in the sight of it all.

"Sure looks like a lot of food for just the two of us." Lovino said, looking back at Feliciano

Feliciano's eyes widened just a little bit and flinched slightly. "O-Oh, really? I-I didn't even notice! Well, you look really hungry so I thought that I should make a lot to make sure that you get full! Th-That's all! Plus, I can hear your stomach growling, so I guess I was right to make a lot of food." Feliciano said.

Lovino blinked and looked down at his stomach and heard it grumble before putting a hand over it. "Hm. I guess you're right. I _am_ really hungry." Lovino said.

Feliciano gave a small quiet sigh of relief.

Lovino, tired of standing, walked over to the table and sat down, waiting for Feliciano to finish cooking.

"So, uhhh…" Feliciano began. "You came home pretty late last night. Wh-Where were you? I was getting scared."

Lovino looked up. "Oh, that? I uhh…I went to a carnival…with a…f-friend." Lovino muttered, blushing slightly.

Feliciano perked up then. "Oh, a carnival? How fun! I wish I could go!" Feliciano said, excitedly.

"Yeah…it's alright." Lovino said.

"Aright? A carnival can't be just 'alright'! What did you do there?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino sighed then. "Well, when we got there, we got on a few rides and a…roller coaster." Lovino said, voice dying at "roller coaster", trying to forget that horrible experience.

Feliciano turned around then and looked at Lovino in confusion. "But, Lovino…you _hate_ roller coasters." Feliciano said.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Lovino said, lowly.

"Then why would you go on one?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino paused for a minute. "Well, let's just say I _had_ to go on a roller coaster." Lovino said.

"But why?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino blushed again, slightly. "I uhh…I-I lost a bet…y-yeah." Lovino said, not wanting to tell Feliciano that Antonio had _carried_ him and made him get on it.

"Oh." Feliciano said, softly before turning back around to check on the cooking food. "What kind of bet?"

"U-Umm." Lovino stuttered, trying to find a believable excuse. "T-To see who could eat the most ice cream? Y-Yeah, that's it! It was so hot yesterday and we made a bet to see who could eat the most!" Lovino said.

"Oh. Ok then. Sorry you lost." Feliciano said.

Lovino, seeing that Feliciano bought it, sighed in relief. "No, that's ok. I-It wasn't that bad." Lovino said, in spite of the experience because yes, it _was_ that bad.

"Then what did you do?" Feliciano asked.

"Um. Oh, yeah, we got off and it turns out that there were…pictures of the people riding." Lovino said.

"Ooh, did you see yours?" Feliciano asked.

"Y-Yeah…" Lovino muttered.

"Did you bring any home? Can I see them?" Feliciano asked, excitedly.

"N-No! I-I mean, no. I didn't bring any." Lovino stuttered.

"Oh. Aww, I wanted to see them." Feliciano said, sadly.

"Trust me. You wouldn't want to see them. They weren't that good." Lovino said, blushing and remembering Matthias making fun of him for holding onto Antonio.

"Oh, they can't be that bad." Feliciano said.

"Yes…they _were_ that bad." Lovino said, still blushing.

"Oh. Well, maybe it's because they're yours. A lot of people hate the pictures they're in." Feliciano said.

"Eh." Lovino grumbled.

"So what happened next?" Feliciano asked, placing the food in a plate and turning off the fire from under the pan.

Lovino watched as Feliciano walked over to the table and put the food down.

"We went to a…funhouse." Lovino said.

Feliciano giggled. "Did you have fun?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino's face darkened. "No…no I did not." Lovino said.

"Aww, why not?" Feliciano asked.

"Because…" Lovino began. "It was stupid."

"Why do you say that?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino crossed his arms. "Because everything was all fake and…it was boring." Lovino said, blushing and not wanting to tell Feliciano that he was actually scared out of his mind and cried.

"Oh. Ok. As long as you had a good time." Feliciano said, smiling.

Lovino rolled his eyes then. "Yeah, I had a _great_ time." Lovino said, remembering being laughed at by Antonio and his stupid friends at his expense.

"Where did you go next?" Feliciano said, filling his plate with food.

"I had a funnel cake as a snack." Lovino said, absentmindedly.

"Oh, I heard those were really good! How are they, are they sweet?" Feliciano said, excitedly.

"Yeah, they're pretty good. And yeah, they are, but not too sweet." Lovino said.

Feliciano sighed. "I wish I could have had one." Feliciano said, wistfully.

"Yeah, well, they aren't _that_ good." Lovino said, putting some food on his plate as well.

"Maybe, but I'd still like to try one someday." Feliciano said.

"Hm." Lovino said, taking a bite of his food.

"Did you do anything else?" Feliciano asked, before taking a bite.

"Well…" Lovino began. "We went on a Ferris wheel." Lovino said, after swallowing.

"And how was it? Was it fun?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino blushed. "Yeah. It was fun." Lovino said, trying to forget Antonio holding him and keeping him warm.

"That's nice." Feliciano said, warmly.

"There were also fireworks." Lovino added.

Feliciano gasped. "Fireworks? I love fireworks! They're so pretty!" Feliciano said, excitedly. "And you got to see them on the Ferris wheel too?"

"Yeah." Lovino said. "At the very top."

"Oh, that's amazing!" Feliciano said. "I wish I could have seen it!"

"Yeah. It was definitely something." Lovino said.

Feliciano sighed happily. "I'll have to get Luddy to do that with me someday." Feliciano said, thoughtfully.

"Yeah. Well, you do that." Lovino said, before taking another bite.

They ate in silence for a short while.

The hot fresh food was absolutely delicious.

Definitely a lot better fresh off the stove than when Lovino normally came into the kitchen after waking up.

Although Feliciano usually never makes breakfast this big.

Lovino wondered why he would do that out of nowhere.

"Feliciano?" Lovino called.

"Yes?" Feliciano said.

"What made you want to cook all this food like this?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano's eyes widened again. "I thought I told you that i-it's because I thought you would be hungry. Th-There's nothing wrong about that is there?" Feliciano asked.

"No, it's not but you rarely make breakfast like this. Unless there's something on your mind." Lovino said.

"No, I-I just wanted to make you a big breakfast that's all." Feliciano said.

Lovino's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Are you hiding something? Is that why you made such a big breakfast so that I won't be mad at you for something?" Lovino asked.

"N-No! Of course not! I'm not hiding anything!" Feliciano said.

"You're lying." Lovino said.

Feliciano shook his head. "N-No, I'm not! I'm telling the truth, I swear! J-Just finish eating before your food gets cold, ok?" Feliciano asked.

"Fine." Lovino said. "I'll eat. But I can tell you're lying. So you might as well just tell me."

Feliciano gulped.

"Feliciano? I'm waiting." Lovino said, crossing his arms after he was finished. "There's no more food left, so there's no distractions."

"I…I…I." Feliciano faltered.

"You what?" Lovino asked. "Just tell me already! It's not like you did something bad is it?" Lovino said.

"I-" was all Feliciano could say before he was cut off by a knock on the door.

They both looked over in the direction the sound was coming from.

"O-Oh, I'll get it!" Feliciano said, taking the dishes and putting them in the sink. "Coming!" Feliciano yelled, before walking quickly past Lovino.

Lovino still sat at the table, arms crossed. "Lucky." Lovino muttered.

A short while later, Lovino heard the door open.

"Oh, Luddy! Good morning!" Feliciano said, happily. "Come on in! I'm so happy to see you! We just got done eating!"

A few seconds later, they walked into the kitchen, Feliciano pulling Ludwig by the arm.

"Good morning, Lovino." Ludwig said.

"Good morning." Lovino said, still facing the other way.

Ludwig looked at Feliciano in confusion.

"Don't worry about him. It's not you this time." Feliciano said.

"Oh." was all Ludwig could say.

"Yeah, it's not you, it's him." Lovino said, turning around and facing the both of them and staring at Feliciano. "In fact, he was just about to tell me something, right Feliciano?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano took a nervous step back and glanced up at the clock on the wall. "O-Oh, would you look at the time! I-I think we're gonna be late for that…thing we have to go to. C-Come on, Luddy, let's go!" Feliciano said, stuttering.

"Uh…ok?" Ludwig said, confused.

And with that, Feliciano dragged Ludwig back to the front door.

Lovino just sat there and rolled his eyes as the door closed.

After sitting at the table for a short while, Lovino shook his head and got up.

He was about to get ready to leave for the day when all of a sudden, he got a phone call.

Lovino took his cell phone out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID.

It was Antonio.

Oh yeah.

He had forgotten he had given Antonio his number.

It was only because he wouldn't shut up and kept bugging him about it.

'But Loviiiii! Why won't you give me your number?' Lovino remembered Antonio asking.

'Because I don't _want_ to, you bastard!' Lovino yelled. 'I don't trust you with it!'

'But why?' Antonio whined.

'Because I just _don't_! You think I want you calling me at all hours of the night?' Lovino asked.

'But what if I get hurt? Or what if I need you?' Antonio asked.

'You seem pretty capable of handling yourself to me.' Lovino said, crossing his arms.

'But I get lonely sometimes, Lovi. What if I want to talk to you?' Antonio said, whimpering.

'Then call those damn friends of yours. You can hang out with them.' Lovino said.

Antonio then made a sad face and lowered his head. 'Oh…I see. You don't care about me. I could get in a terrible accident and die…and you won't even give me your number so I can call you. That's mean.'

Lovino rolled his eyes. 'Are you serious? And what kind of accident could you get into?' Lovino asked.

'I don't know.' Antonio said, shrugging. 'Maybe I could get hit by a car while walking. Or fall down the stairs. Or I could probably break a leg. Or maybe I could get hit by a falling piano or something.'

Lovino narrowed his eyes. 'Really? _That's_ the best you could come up with?' Lovino asked.

Antonio looked up. 'What? It could happen.' Antonio said.

'Do you know what the odds of that happening are? It's unlikely, you idiot!' Lovino yelled.

'Unlikely, but still possible.' Antonio said.

Lovino rolled his eyes. 'Ok, I can understand getting hit by a car or falling down the stairs or breaking a leg, but getting hit by a piano? Really? What do you think this is, a cartoon?' Lovino asked.

'It could still happen.' Antonio said.

Lovino groaned. 'At least _try_ to come up with something believable!' Lovino said.

Antonio then made a sad face that looked like he was about to cry.

Lovino looked away. 'That's not gonna work on me, you know.'

But Antonio kept going and made a whimpering sound and walked around to Lovino's field of vision.

Lovino turned his head another way. 'If you think that's gonna work on me, you got another thing coming!'

Then Antonio turned it up.

He started quivering his bottom lip.

And every which way Lovino turned, Antonio made sure there was no way Lovino could look without seeing him.

So, having no other option, Lovino closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

Lovino heaved a great sigh.

Antonio walked up close to Lovino. 'Please? Lovi? I'll be so lonely if I can't talk to you when we're not together. And then I'll be really sad.' Antonio said, whimpering into Lovino's ear.

Lovino gave a frustrated sigh. 'Alright, alright, damn it! If I give you my goddamn number, will you just shut the _fuck_ up?' Lovino yelled.

Antonio's face returned to its original happy state. 'Yep!' Antonio said, cheerfully.

'Fine.' Lovino grumbled.

After Lovino gave Antonio his number, Antonio wrapped his arms around Lovino in a big strong embrace. 'Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm so happy, Lovi!' Antonio said.

Lovino rolled his eyes again. 'Yeah, I can see that.'

Antonio giggled. 'I'm so happy, I could just kiss you!' Antonio said, happily.

Lovino's eyes narrowed dangerously. 'You do that and I'll kill you.' Lovino said, darkly.

Antonio laughed. 'Oh, don't worry, Lovi! You won't regret this! I won't abuse it, I promise!' Antonio said.

'You better not.' Lovino said, lowly.

And so far, Antonio hadn't abused his privilege.

Although Lovino had only given it to him very recently, he still suspected that in the future, Antonio probably would sooner or later.

But for now, Antonio had kept his promise.

For now.

And then coming back from his flashback with a shake of his head, Lovino answered his phone.

"Uh, hello?" Lovino asked.

"Lovi? Is that you?" Antonio asked, over the phone.

Lovino rolled his eyes. "_Of course_ it's me! Who _else_ would it be, you idiot?" Lovino asked.

"Oh, it _is _you!" Antonio said.

Lovino groaned. "Yes, it is. Now, what do you want?" Lovino asked.

"Oh. Umm. The reason I called was…umm. How should I say this?" Antonio asked.

Lovino could just picture Antonio cocking his head to the side in confusion.

"Well, see the thing is…uhhh. Well, uhhh…you see-" Antonio said, before he was cut off.

"Spit it out or I'm hanging up!" Lovino yelled. "You're wasting my time!" Lovino then looked around and slumped his shoulders, blushing.

That last sentence was a lie since Antonio wasn't really wasting his time.

He just wanted to sound busy so that Antonio wouldn't think that without him, Lovino would have nothing to do.

He couldn't waste his time if Lovino had absolutely nothing to do.

"Wait, Lovi! Don't hang up!" Antonio yelled, through the phone.

"Well, then what do you want?" Lovino asked, slightly annoyed.

"Well, umm, I was just calling to tell you that we won't be able to spend that much time together today because something came up. So, I'm afraid you'll have to come home a little earlier today." Antonio said.

Lovino paused for a second, not saying anything.

"Lovi? A-Are you there?" Antonio asked, cautiously.

After a few more seconds, Lovino finally found his voice. "Y-Yeah…I-I'm here. S-So, i-is that what you called for? To tell me that we can't stay out as long?" Lovino asked.

Antonio paused before speaking. "Yeah. I'm sorry." Antonio said.

"No…it's ok." Lovino said. "I-I'll just have to find something else to do then." Lovino said, looking around again and finding nothing.

"No, Lovi, I mean we can still go out! I was just saying you would have to come back earlier. We can still spend some of the day together…just not _all_ day, ok, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

"Oh. Ok then." Lovino said.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Lovi! I promise I'll make it up to you, ok?" Antonio asked.

"Ok." Lovino said, simply.

"So, I'll be there soon to pick you up, ok? Just wait there." Antonio said.

"Ok then. So since we don't have much time, where were you planning on going?" Lovino asked.

"Ummm. Well, I figured we'd go get some ice cream or something. And maybe walk around the park a little. Something nice and not too outgoing." Antonio said.

"Oh, ok then. That's sounds…nice. It should be fun." Lovino said, trying to smile.

"Ok, that's good! Sounds like we have a plan!" Antonio said.

"Yeah." Lovino said.

"Ok. I'll see ya when I get there!" Antonio said, happily.

"Ok. Bye." Lovino said.

"Bye, Lovi!" Antonio said.

And with that, Lovino hung up the phone.

Lovino sighed and walked over to the couch and plopped down on it.

Why was he feeling like this?

They still get to spend time together.

So it should be no big deal, right?

Right?

Maybe…

'We can still spend some of the day together…just not _all_ day.'

Maybe the reason Lovino was feeling so empty when Antonio said that was because…he was actually starting to _fall_ for Antonio.

Lovino's eyes widened.

No!

No, no, _no_!

That is _not _the reason!

Not the reason at _all_!

Lovino scoffed. "I don't _need_ him to have a good time! I'm perfectly capable of having a good time by myself…I just…can't find anything to do sometimes. That's all." Lovino said.

They were still going out, after all.

Having nothing else to do, Lovino laid back on the couch, waiting for Antonio.

Staring up at the ceiling, Lovino yawned.

Uh-oh.

The breakfast Feliciano cooked was starting to get to him.

No!

He had to stay awake so that he wouldn't miss Antonio.

But the couch was _so _comfortable and _so_ warm.

He could just take a little nap, right?

A little nap never hurt anybody.

"Aww, I can just close my eyes for a little bit. That bastard is probably gonna be late anyway." Lovino said, yawning and stretching.

And with that, Lovino settled down and fell asleep.

Lovino was having the most wonderful dream.

Until…

The doorbell rang.

"Huh?" Lovino mumbled, groggily, as he woke up.

Lovino's eyes opened and closed, slowly, as he awoke from the depths of sleep.

The doorbell rang again.

And this time, Lovino shot straight up.

Oh, goddamn it, not _again_!

Lovino bolted from the couch and ran towards the door.

Lovino grabbed his keys from the table yanked the door open.

Antonio was on the other side.

"Hi, Lovi!" Antonio said, waving. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah." Lovino said.

"Wow, Lovi. You look really tired. Are you ok?" Antonio asked.

Lovino sighed. "Yes, I'm ok. I wouldn't be looking tired if you hadn't come so late." Lovino said.

Antonio chuckled. "Yeah, sorry about that, Lovi. I kinda lost track of time." Antonio said.

Lovino scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Whatever." Lovino said.

"Well, shall we go then? We don't have all day!" Antonio said.

Lovino tried not to let that fact bother him as he closed the door with a silent, "Yeah."

When they got in Antonio's car, Lovino turned to Antonio asking, "So, where is this ice cream place?"

"Oh, it's just downtown. And there's a big park like right across the street so we can sit down there or something." Antonio said.

"Oh." was all Lovino could say as Antonio started up his car and pulled off.

As they were going downtown, Lovino looked over to Antonio and wanted to ask him what came up that they couldn't spend all day together.

But he then thought against it, not wanting to get into Antonio's business.

So, ignoring his question, Lovino turned back towards the window and leaned his head on it, looking out at the scenery passing by.

A short while later, Antonio pulled the car up to the curb.

"Hey. Lovi, we're here." Antonio said, startling Lovino out of his daydream.

"Huh?" Lovino said.

"We're here. Come on, let's go." Antonio said, getting out.

"Oh. Ok." Lovino said, following Antonio.

"It's just on the other side of the street. See? Right there." Antonio said, pointing to an ice cream parlor.

Antonio began walking down the sidewalk and Lovino followed behind.

When they got to the crosswalk, they had to wait for the light to change.

"You're gonna like this place, Lovi. They have really good ice cream. So soft and creamy." Antonio said. "It's almost like the gelato at Francis' restaurant." Antonio added as an afterthought.

"Hmm. Wow, I forgot about that. It seemed like so long ago. I'll give it a try." Lovino said.

"That's the spirit, Lovi!" Antonio said, slapping Lovino on the back.

Lovino rolled his eyes as the light turned green and the pedestrian symbol lit up, signaling for them to cross.

When they made it across the street, they walked down a few doors away before they reached the ice cream parlor.

When they got there, Antonio opened the door as a bell overhead rung, and motioned for Lovino to go through.

Antonio closed the door and followed Lovino to the counter.

Antonio fell in beside Lovino at the counter. "See anything you want?" Antonio asked.

"Chocolate, I guess." Lovino said.

"Alright then." Antonio said.

"So, what can I get for you guys?" a man said, walking up behind the counter.

"Hey, Carlos. He'll have a chocolate ice cream and I'll have vanilla." Antonio said.

"Hey, Antonio! I didn't notice you for a second! How've you been, man?" Carlos asked.

"Can't complain. Everything's been good so far." Antonio said, smiling.

Lovino looked between the both of them in confusion.

"That's good! So, who's your friend here?" Carlos said, looking at Lovino.

Lovino blushed and looked away.

"Oh, that's my friend Lovino. Or as I like to call him, 'Lovi'." Antonio said, smiling.

"Will you stop introducing me to people like that?" Lovino said, lowly.

"Hi, Lovino. I'm Carlos. Nice to meet you." Carlos said.

"Hi." Lovino said.

"That's a cute nickname you have there." Carlos said, smiling.

Lovino blushed even redder. "Yeah, well…I only let him call me that because he's so stupid. And he said it's cute for me. I didn't even ask for it." Lovino said.

Carlos laughed. "Well, he's not wrong! And he can be a little on the slow side sometimes." Carlos said.

"Hey!" Antonio cried.

Carlos laughed again and Lovino joined him with a chuckle of his own.

Carlos' laugher died down and he sighed. "Alright, let me get those ice creams for you." Carlos said.

When Carlos walked over to the freezer, he began scooping up the ice creams.

"You're so mean, Lovi." Antonio said, turning to Lovino and making a sad face.

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Well, _someone_ has to tell you sometimes." Lovino said, crossing his arms.

Antonio then wrapped his arms around Lovino. "But I know you don't mean it, so that's ok!" Antonio said, rubbing his cheek against Lovino's.

"W-Will you _stop_?" Lovino asked, trying to pry himself from Antonio's grip. "We're in _public_!"

And as Lovino was struggling, Carlos came back with the ice creams.

"Alright, you two lovebirds knock it off." Carlos said. "Here's your ice creams."

Antonio let go of Lovino then and grabbed their ice creams. "Hey, why are there two scoops?" Antonio asked.

"Relax, they're on the house." Carlos said, waving a hand, dismissively.

Antonio gave Lovino his ice cream them.

"Are you sure about this?" Antonio asked.

Carlos laughed loudly again. "Yeah, man. I own the place! And besides, _everyone_ likes ice cream, right?" Carlos asked.

"Especially you." Antonio said, laughing.

"Ok, I deserve that for calling you stupid!" Carlos said, chuckling.

"Well, I'll see you later, Carlos. Lovi and I are gonna go now." Antonio said.

"Alright, man. See ya later!" Carlos said. "And Lovino?" Carlos called after Lovino.

"Yeah?" Lovino asked, turning around.

"Make sure he stays out of trouble." Carlos said.

Lovino smiled. "Will do." Lovino said.

Carlos chuckled and Antonio led Lovino out of the parlor.

As they were walking down the sidewalk, Lovino looked over at Antonio who was happily eating his ice cream.

Antonio noticed Lovino staring at him and quirked and eyebrow in confusion. "What?" Antonio asked.

"God, how many people do you know?" Lovino asked.

Antonio laughed. "Oh, I don't know _that _many people, Lovi!" Antonio said.

"Well, it sure seems like you do. Like everywhere we go, you see someone you know." Lovino said.

"Yeah. That happens." Antonio said, as they got to the crosswalk. "I'm sorry if it makes you feel uncomfortable."

"No. That's ok. I don't really mind." Lovino said, as they crossed the street. "It's just that it seemed kind of weird.

They then walked into the city park.

It was _huge_.

Lots of grass and a grand fountain in the center.

"So, how do you like the ice cream?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah, you were right. It _is_ pretty good." Lovino said.

Antonio chuckled. "See, I told you! Aren't you glad you listened to me for once?" Antonio asked.

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Whatever." Lovino said, lowly.

"Hey, let's sit here." Antonio said, pointing to an upcoming bench.

"Ok." Lovino said.

They came up to the bench and sat down, eating their ice cream.

"It's a nice day today." Antonio said, looking at the sky.

"Yeah. It is." Lovino replied back.

There were birds flying in the sky and butterflies fluttering all across the flowers.

Lovino looked over at Antonio who was still enjoying his ice cream.

He was then filled with great curiosity as to why Antonio was so busy today.

He didn't _want _to ask Antonio, but the curiosity was killing him.

Hopefully, Antonio wouldn't be mad if he asked.

It was just a question.

He wouldn't hate Lovino if he asked, would he?

He just wanted to know.

It wasn't like Lovino was trying to get into Antonio's business or anything.

"So, um…" Lovino began, taking a lick of his ice cream. "If you don't mind me asking…why are you so busy today?" Lovino asked.

Antonio looked at Lovino then. "Oh, that? It's nothing. Just some stuff I have to do at my house, that's all." Antonio said.

"Oh. Renovating?" Lovino asked.

"Eh, something like that." Antonio said.

"Oh. I can help…I mean…if you want me to, I can." Lovino said.

Antonio laughed. "No, that's ok, Lovi. It's more of something that I want to do myself." Antonio said, finishing his ice cream.

"Oh. Ok then." Lovino said, almost sadly.

Did he really want to spend more time with Antonio?

No?

Yes. But only because he didn't want to go home early.

But unfortunately, their date would have to end sooner or later.

No matter how much Lovino wanted it not to.

But Antonio would have to go home sometime.

And Lovino would also have to go home sometime no matter how much he hated it.

A short while later, Lovino finished his ice cream as well and they just sat there in silence.

"Hey, Lovi." Antonio finally said, breaking the silence between them.

"Yeah?" Lovino answered back.

"Let's go to sit by the fountain. It looks much nicer over there." Antonio said.

"Ok." Lovino answered.

Antonio got up and Lovino followed him to the fountain at the center of the park.

Antonio was right.

It _was_ much nicer over here.

"Hey, let's sit over there." Antonio said, pointing to the side of the fountain.

"Ok." Lovino said.

They walked over and sat down at the edge of the large fountain.

As they sat down, Lovino ran his hand through the water, absentmindedly.

"This is nice." Lovino said, softly.

"Yeah, it is. It's a perfect place for relaxing." Antonio said, stretching.

Lovino looked over at Antonio. "You're not gonna go to sleep on me are you?" Lovino asked.

Antonio laughed. "Of course not, Lovi! I'd never do that to you! Although it _is_ a really nice place to sleep, though." Antonio said. "I _could _just fall asleep here, but I won't."

Lovino huffed. "Lazy bastard." Lovino said, lowly.

Antonio chuckled and pulled Lovino closer to him. "I mean, I _could_ just fall asleep right here…if you do it with me." Antonio said into Lovino's ear.

Lovino, feeling Antonio's hot breath on his ear, instantly blushed a deep red. "_What_? You pervert! What do you _mean_ 'do it you'? I'm not doing _anything_ like that with you! _Especially _not in public!" Lovino yelled.

Antonio laughed. "No, Lovi, not _that _'do it'! I meant I could fall asleep right here, if you fall asleep _with _me. You're so silly!"

"What? _No_! I'm not going to sleep with you right here! What would that look like to other people?" Lovino asked, pulling himself out of Antonio's grip.

"Well, I didn't say I _wanted_ to. I just said I could if you would too." Antonio said, trying to explain himself.

Lovino rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot!" Lovino yelled.

Antonio captured Lovino in his arms again and hugged him tightly. "But I'm _your_ idiot!" Antonio said, happily.

Lovino growled in annoyance.

"Will you let go of me?" Lovino asked, darkly.

"Aww, Lovi, you're so mean. Why don't you ever let me hug you?" Antonio asked.

"Because I don't _like_ it!" Lovino yelled. "And besides, wasn't the Ferris wheel enough for you? I only did because no one could see us!"

Antonio giggled then. "Aww, you're just saying that, Lovi! You're so cute when you're mad!" Antonio said, poking Lovino's cheek. "You _know _you like it when I hug you!"

Lovino blushed. "Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Whatever helps you sleep at night." Lovino said.

Antonio cocked his head to the side in thought. "Hmm. Well, _you _would." Antonio said.

"Just get off of me already-wait, what did you just say?" Lovino asked, narrowing his eyes.

Antonio smiled greatly. "I said _you_ would help me sleep at night." Antonio said.

Lovino's eyes widened then. "Ok, that's it! _Get _the _fuck_ off of me, you goddamn pervert!" Lovino yelled.

"What? What did I say, Lovi?" Antonio asked, utterly confused.

"My _God_, why are you so fucking _stupid_?" Lovino asked.

"What did I do?" Antonio asked.

Lovino groaned, exasperatedly. "Ugh, nevermind." Lovino sighed.

"Good!" Antonio said, squeezing Lovino harder.

"Hey, you bastard, I said get _off _of me!" Lovino yelled.

Antonio just laughed at Lovino's anger. "Aww, come on, Lovi! Stop being so mean!" Antonio said.

That is, until he just so happened to glance at his watch.

"Oh, no!" Antonio gasped, looking at his watch. "We were here _that_ long?" Antonio said, in disbelief. "I'm gonna be late!"

Lovino stopped struggling and looked at Antonio then. "Wait, what did you say?" Lovino asked. "Late for what?"

Antonio looked at Lovino. "That thing I told you I had to do! I'm gonna be late! I didn't think we spent that much time here!" Antonio said.

Lovino just stared at Antonio.

Antonio chuckled. "Heh, I guess time really _does_ fly when you're having fun." Antonio said.

"Oh." Lovino said, softly. "S-So, does that mean we have to go?" Lovino asked.

Antonio smiled. "Yep!" Antonio said, getting up. "Well, Lovi, let's go!"

Lovino's eyes widened a little bit.

_Damn_!

Had time _really _gone by that _fast_?

Oh no.

The time that Lovino had dreaded had come.

No matter how much he wanted it not to.

Of course Lovino knew it would come eventually.

He just didn't expect it to come so soon.

So, finally forcing himself to get up, Lovino begrudgingly walked side by side next to Antonio to his car.

Lovino looked down at the ground, sadly. 'I didn't want this to end so soon. I hoped he would forget about it.' Lovino thought to himself.

"You ok, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

When Lovino looked over, he saw Antonio staring right at him. "Huh? Oh, yeah! Y-Yeah, I'm alright! I was just thinking about stuff!" Lovino said, trying to smile.

"Oh, ok then." Antonio said.

A few minutes later, they were walking up to the car.

When they got into the car, Lovino laid his head on the window and looked out, waiting for Antonio to start it up and pull off.

"I know this date is shorter than what you're used to, Lovi. But at least we got to spend _some_ time together, right?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah." was all Lovino could say.

"And I promise that I'll make it up to you later, ok?" Antonio asked.

"Ok." Lovino said.

And with that, Antonio started up the car and pulled off down the street.

As they were leaving, Lovino saw the scenery change from big lush greenery and city traffic to concrete buildings and shops passing by.

And it was then that Lovino gave a quiet sigh.

"You know, Lovi, even if this was a really short date compared to the other ones, I still had a great time with you today." Antonio said.

"Yeah. Me too, I guess. The ice cream was good though. Thanks." Lovino said, still looking out the window.

Antonio chuckled. "You're welcome." Antonio said.

They both fell silent and a short while later, they were coming up onto Lovino's house.

They pulled up to the curb and Antonio shut off the car.

Not wanting to get out and praying that Antonio was pulling some kind of prank on him and hoping that they would go somewhere else, Lovino hesitantly got out of the car, waiting for Antonio to say something like 'I'm just kidding, Lovi! Come on, get back in, I wanna take you somewhere else!'

But it never came.

And realizing that it wasn't, made Lovino feel empty inside.

So, after seeming like an eternity of getting out of the car, Lovino finally put a foot out and got out, closing the door behind him.

And Antonio, as expected, got out as well.

Walking up to the front door, Lovino paused before opening it and turned around.

Lovino watched as Antonio made his way up the steps and when he finally did, Antonio smiled at him.

"I'm really sorry that it has to end this early, Lovi. But if it makes you feel any better, the next date won't be this short." Antonio said.

Lovino blushed slightly and looked away. "Alright." Lovino said.

And with that, Antonio turned around and walked back down the steps and Lovino turned around and opened the door.

And to his surprise, it was unlocked.

Did he forget to lock it?

No.

Couldn't be.

He remembered hearing the door click.

So then why was it unlocked?

So, opening the door wider, Lovino stepped inside and turned around to see Antonio waiting for him.

Antonio was at the bottom of the steps, staring up at Lovino.

"What?" Lovino asked.

"Oh, nothing. It's just weird dropping you off in the daytime." Antonio said.

"Oh." Lovino said, quietly.

Antonio then walked around to the driver's side of his car and looked back up at Lovino. "I know that it's kinda a long ways until nighttime, but I still think I should say goodnight. So, goodnight, Lovi." Antonio said, smiling.

Lovino chuckled a little, wondering why Antonio would still say "goodnight" even though nighttime was hours away.

But nonetheless, Lovino thought he should say it anyway too. Just to humor Antonio. "Goodnight, Antonio." Lovino said.

It was almost weird to say it, yet it still felt right to for some reason.

Antonio smiled and got into the car and Lovino closed the door.

And like the other dates before, Lovino was waiting against the door, waiting for Antonio to start up his car and pull off.

After a few minutes, Lovino heard Antonio start up his car and drive away.

Lovino gave a big sigh as he pushed himself off of the door.

Great.

_Now_, what was he going to do?

That date with Antonio was pretty much the high point of his day.

And nighttime was hours and hours away.

The rest of the day would surely be boring.

The only thing left to go would be to just go to sleep.

But for some reason, Lovino wasn't tired.

But Lovino decided to just go lay down anyway.

Maybe sleep would come eventually if he lay there long enough.

So, finally walking forward, Lovino headed for his room.

But before he could get to the steps, Lovino noticed something from the corner of his eye.

Turning his head, Lovino saw a figure lying on the couch.

Lovino squinted his eyes and walked closer.

And as he got closer, he realized who it was.

And to his further surprise, Lovino realized that it was Feliciano.

"Feliciano?" Lovino called out.

Feliciano mumbled, sleepily and shifted his weight.

Lovino cleared his throat. "Feliciano!" Lovino said, more loudly.

"Huh?" Feliciano startled awake, sleepily. Feliciano then turned his head to look at the direction the sudden noise came from. "Lovino? Is that you? What are you doing here?" Feliciano mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "You don't usually get home this early." Feliciano said.

Lovino blushed, slightly. "Yeah, well…there wasn't much to do today anyway, so I thought I'd just come home early." Lovino said.

"Oh." Feliciano said, yawning.

"What about you?" Lovino said. "I thought you'd still be out. Why are you home so early?" Lovino asked. "I don't know when you get home, but this seems like it's early for you." Lovino added as an afterthought.

Feliciano mumbled and yawned again. "Yeah. It is. Luddy had some important stuff to do, so we couldn't spend that much time together today." Feliciano said, sadly. "And plus, I was kinda tired anyway, so I decided to take a nap." Feliciano said, eyes still closed.

"So, what now?" Lovino asked. "There's nothing to do."

"Well…" Feliciano started. "I was going to make myself dinner, but since you're here, I can make us both something." Feliciano said. "I would have made something earlier, but I was so sleepy, I thought I'd make it after I woke up. But I'm glad you're here. That way, I won't have to eat by myself."

"Sounds good." Lovino said. "What did you have in mind?"

Feliciano shrugged. "I don't know. What do you want?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino paused for a minute, in thought. "I don't know. I haven't had pasta in forever. What about that?" Lovino suggested.

Feliciano's eyes snapped open. "Pasta? Yeah, I can make pasta! I forgot about that! I'll get started on it right away!" Feliciano said, excitedly.

And with that, Feliciano got up off of the couch and ran into the kitchen to prepare to make pasta.

Lovino chuckled at Feliciano's enthusiasm.

He couldn't remember the last time he had seen Feliciano in such a happy mood.

Lovino then let out a long yawn.

He was tired now.

A quick nap would be good before dinner.

Feliciano could handle himself, right?

Right.

Lovino's eyelids became too heavy to hold up, so he decided to just fall asleep right there.

The last thing he heard before falling asleep was Feliciano clattering around in the kitchen, humming to himself.

Lovino slept for God knows how long before he woke up.

Actually, the thing that woke him up was the sound and smell of something cooking.

Lovino yawned loudly and stretched.

After sitting there for a while, Lovino got up off of the couch and walked into the kitchen.

"Oh, Lovino, you're finally awake." Feliciano said.

"Yeah." Lovino mumbled. "How long was I asleep?"

Feliciano cocked his head to the side. "Umm. An hour. Maybe two." Feliciano said.

"Oh. So is dinner ready yet?" Lovino asked.

"Oh, no, not yet." Feliciano said.

"Not yet?" Lovino asked, in disbelief. "It doesn't take that long to boil pasta noodles. What have you been doing?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano blushed, slightly. "I'm sorry. I was talking to Luddy over the phone and I kinda got caught up in the conversation. And I ended up talking for longer than I expected." Feliciano admitted. "But the noodles will be ready soon."

Lovino groaned. "Fine. Just hurry up, alright. I'm starving here." Lovino said.

"Ok…umm, Lovino?" Feliciano called out, quietly.

"Yeah?" Lovino said.

"Umm, c-can you…can you…" Feliciano stuttered.

"Will you spit it out already?" Lovino said.

"S-Sorry. Umm, w-will you help me w-with the sauce? T-To help make it, I mean." Feliciano said.

Lovino just stared at Feliciano.

"I-I already have everything there, all you need to do is just cook it." Feliciano said. "I would do it myself, but I have to make sure the noodles don't get overcooked. Please?"

Lovino stared for a moment before finally relenting and giving a sigh. "Alright." Lovino said, walking further into the kitchen.

"I haven't made pasta in a long time, so I'm kinda confused." Feliciano admitted. "I'm sorry."

"No, don't apologize." Lovino said. "It's ok."

"Thank you. It's better to cook them at the same time so that they're both hot." Feliciano said. "I don't like leaving the noodles to get cold while I make the sauce."

"Yeah, yeah." Lovino said, putting the sauce into a pot.

Walking over to the stove, Lovino put the pot on the stove and turned the fire on.

As the sauce started heating up, Lovino started add the various spices into the sauce while stirring it.

Lovino then chuckled. "Wow, we haven't cooked together like this in a long time. It's almost weird." Lovino said.

Feliciano giggled. "Yeah. I miss it. Just like the old times. I wish we could do this more." Feliciano said, sadly.

"Yeah. Me too. It's been too long." Lovino agreed.

Lovino began seasoning the pasta sauce, making sure that it was evenly mixed.

It was coming along very nicely.

"The pasta will be ready soon." Feliciano said, stirring the noodles.

"Alright. The sauce is almost ready too." Lovino replied.

"I can tell this is gonna so good!" Feliciano said, excitedly.

"Yeah. Go get the plates to put the noodles on and I'll pour the sauce over them." Lovino said, still stirring.

"Ok." Feliciano said, simply, and walked over to the cabinet to fetch two plates. He then went to a drawer to get two forks out and walked to the table and placed the dishes on it.

Walking back to the cabinets, Feliciano got two glasses and filled them with juice before putting them on the table with the plates and forks.

Feliciano then went back to check on the pasta. "Oh, the pasta's done! Yay! I can tell this is gonna be so good!" Feliciano said, cheerfully.

"Yeah, yeah, calm down, Feliciano." Lovino said.

"But I can't! I haven't had pasta in forever!" Feliciano said.

Turning the fire off from under the pasta noodles, Feliciano drained the noodles of water and put them on both of the plates on the table.

Lovino looked out of the window and sighed.

The sun was beginning to set.

"Is it done yet?" Feliciano asked, curiously and bouncing up and down in excitement.

Lovino groaned. "Almost. Calm down, alright?" Lovino said.

"But I'm so hungry!" Feliciano whined. "It smells so good!"

And it wasn't until Feliciano mentioned the smell that Lovino finally became aware of it.

He took a deep breath and he didn't even realize how hungry he was until the aroma entered his nostrils and made his stomach growl. "Oh, God." Lovino said, as his mouth began watering. Forcing himself to swallow, Lovino kept stirring, despite himself.

When the pasta sauce was almost done, Lovino dared himself to taste the concoction.

It was delicious.

However, it was missing something…but what was it?

Turning the fire down slightly, Lovino went to the refrigerator.

He looked around until he found what he was looking for.

Tomatoes.

"Ah, perfect!" Lovino said, grabbing two tomatoes and taking them out of the refrigerator.

Walking back to the pot and grabbing a knife, Lovino began dicing the tomatoes and putting them in the sauce. He then began stirring the tomato chunks into the sauce and making sure that the blended well, which they did.

After stirring for a little while longer, Lovino tasted the sauce again, and this time, it was _much _better.

"Wow." Lovino said, to himself. "Who knew tomatoes would make sauce taste better?"

"Huh? What's that, Lovino?" Feliciano asked.

"U-Uh, n-nothing, nothing. Just forget about it." Lovino said.

"Oh…ok." Feliciano said.

"Sauce is done." Lovino said, turning the fire off from underneath the pot.

"Oh, good!" Feliciano said. "I already put the noodles on the plates, so all you have to do is just pour the sauce over them."

"Alright." Lovino said, carrying the pot over to the table.

"Wow, that looks good, Lovino!" Feliciano said, looking into the pot.

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Now stand back before you get burned." Lovino said.

Feliciano did what he was told and stood back, watching Lovino pour the sauce over the pasta noodles.

And as Lovino poured the sauce, the aroma caught his nostrils again and his mouth started watering again. "Oh, goddammit." Lovino said, to himself.

When he was done pouring, Lovino wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Alright, dinner's ready. Now, let's eat." Lovino said, smiling.

Feliciano smiled greatly. "Yay! I'm so hungry, I can't wait to eat!" Feliciano said.

Lovino sat down at the table and Feliciano sat down across from him.

Feliciano, unable to contain himself, began to dig in.

Lovino began eating as well, until he heard a hum of confusion from Feliciano. "What is it, Feliciano? Is there something wrong?" Lovino asked, looking up from his pasta.

Feliciano cocked his head in confusion with his fork in his mouth. "This…tastes different. What's in it? It's not like you used to make it before." Feliciano said, eyeing the food.

"Oh, um…I put tomatoes in it." Lovino said, returning to his food.

"Oh." Feliciano said, taking a bite. "Ooh, it's so good!" Feliciano said, taking another bite. "Where did you learn to make pasta sauce like this?"

"I, uh…learned it…from someone." Lovino said, looking away and blushing slightly.

"Oh, who is it?" Feliciano asked, curiously.

"Uh…a-a friend…i-it's a friend. I learned it from a friend." Lovino said, blushing even more.

"Oh. Well, I'm glad they taught you! It's good to change the recipe every now and again. Thanks!" Feliciano said.

"You're welcome." Lovino mumbled, taking another bite.

Feliciano giggled and resumed eating.

Lovino looked out the window and saw that the once orange sky was beginning to darken.

Nighttime was approaching.

They just sat there eating in comfortable silence for a short while.

Until Feliciano spoke up and broke the silence.

"Uh…Lovino?" Feliciano called out, silently.

"Yeah?" Lovino said, looking up at Feliciano.

Feliciano was picking at his food. "Umm…about earlier today. A-And yesterday. About why I was acting so weird. Umm…" Feliciano said.

"Yeah? What about it?" Lovino asked.

"W-Well the reason why I was acting so weird was…was…" Feliciano said, faltering.

"Was?" Lovino asked, prompting Feliciano to finish.

"Was…umm…was…well, you see…" Feliciano said.

"Feliciano, spit it out!" Lovino said, groaning.

"W-Well, th-the reason why I was acting so weird was because…because…because I…" Feliciano stopped before gathering himself. "B-Because I wasn't sure how to t-tell you." Feliciano finally said, finishing his thoughts.

Lovino's eyes narrowed slightly. "Tell me what?" Lovino asked, in confusion.

Feliciano swallowed nervously. "D-Do you remember when me and Luddy were talking in the kitchen yesterday?" Feliciano asked.

"Yeah?" Lovino said.

"Umm. W-Well…I-I mean you _were_ right when you said that we weren't talking about anything dirty." Feliciano said.

"Yeah, ok. And?" Lovino said.

"Well…what we were talking about wasn't something dirty. It was about if I were to…umm…w-we were talking about i-if I were to…m-move in…with him." Feliciano said, voice dying at the end.

Lovino's eyes widened then. "Wait, what? What did you just say?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano screwed his eyes shut then. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Feliciano apologized, anticipating Lovino to explode.

But he didn't.

He just sat there.

"What? What are you talking about? What are you saying sorry for?" Lovino asked.

"I'm sorry!" Feliciano whimpered.

"Calm down. Stop apologizing! I didn't even hear what you said. Now, calm down and tell me what you said." Lovino said.

Feliciano gulped, trying to gather himself. "U-Ummm. I said that m-me and Luddy were talking…and he suggested that I m-move in with him." Feliciano said. "And we were talking about what could be good about me living with him."

Lovino cocked his head in confusion. "Wait. So, you're gonna move with him?" Lovino asked.

"I-I was thinking about it." Feliciano said. "I-I just wanted to tell you so that you wouldn't be mad and feel like I brought this on you at the last minute. S-So, that's why I was acting so weird."

Lovino just blinked. "And when were you planning to move in with him? If you hadn't decided already." Lovino said, returning to his plate.

"Umm. A few days, maybe. Maybe a week." Feliciano said, finally opening his eyes and looking at Lovino.

Lovino sat in silence for a short while. "Hmm. And you were seriously thinking about this?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano said nothing, but simply nodded his head.

"I see." Lovino said, simply.

Feliciano shrunk back a bit, probably waiting for Lovino to give a flat out "no."

But he didn't.

And Lovino, seeing this, paused for a long while, in deep thought. And then, finally relenting, Lovino gave a big sigh. "You really want this, don't you?" Lovino asked, staring directly at Feliciano.

Feliciano looked back and nodded. "Oh, yes, I really do! It gets really inconvenient when we have to go to each other's houses. Luddy said it'd be better to move in with him because if I did, then we wouldn't bother you and we could spend more time together. And I really do want to spend more time with him." Feliciano said.

Lovino just nodded and looked out the window.

It was now nighttime.

"And why isn't he here discussing this with us?" Lovino asked.

"Luddy didn't want to come because he thought you would get mad and yell at him." Feliciano said.

"Why would he think I would yell at him?" Lovino asked.

"Because he thought you wouldn't want me to move in with him. And that you would try to keep me from going with him." Feliciano said.

"Hmm." Lovino said.

Feliciano didn't say anything, but silently pleaded for Lovino to let him move in with the German.

Another long pause.

And then Lovino finally spoke up. "Alright." Lovino said, simply.

Feliciano, who was looking down, instantly snapped his head up and stared at Lovino with wide eyes. "Wh-What did you just say?" Feliciano asked, not believing his ears.

"I said 'alright'." Lovino repeated.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Feliciano asked, still staring.

Lovino groaned. "I said it was alright." Lovino said.

"Wha-y-you mean it?" Feliciano asked.

"Yes. You can go. I don't mind." Lovino said.

"W-Wait. L-Lovino, if this is a joke, i-it's not funny." Feliciano said.

"I'm not joking. I'm being serious about this." Lovino said.

"S-So, I can go? I-I can go live with Luddy?" Feliciano asked.

"Yeah. You're old enough to make your own decisions." Lovino said.

"S-So, you're letting me go live with Luddy?" Feliciano said.

Lovino groaned. "Feliciano, I don't know how to be any clearer than this. Yes, you can go." Lovino said.

"R-Really? A-And you're not mad at me for asking and wanting to move out?" Feliciano asked.

"Yes. And no, I'm not mad. You can go live with whoever you want." Lovino said.

Feliciano smiled greatly. "Yay! Oh, wait till I tell Luddy! He'll be so happy! Oh, thank you, Lovino! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Feliciano said, bouncing up and down excitedly in his seat.

"Ah!" Lovino said, putting a hand up and stopping Feliciano. "But only on one condition."

Feliciano cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Huh? A condition? What is it?" Feliciano asked, curiously.

"Only if he keeps you safe. If you're gone, I won't be able to keep an eye on you anymore. That's why I want to make sure that he keeps you safe since I can't watch over you, ok? Can I trust him to do that?" Lovino asked.

"Oh, yes, yes, of course you can! Luddy would _never_ let anything happen to me! I promise you that!" Feliciano said, happily.

Lovino sighed. "Ok, then. As long as he keeps that promise, you have my permission to live with him. And if anything happens, anything at all, you came always come back, ok?" Lovino asked, making sure that Feliciano understand him clearly.

Feliciano nodded, excitedly. "Ok, ok, I promise. He'll keep me safe. And I promise I'll call every day to check in and tell you how I'm doing, ok?" Feliciano asked, excitedly.

"Ok then. That's good. As long as you're happy." Lovino said.

Feliciano giggled before going back to eating. "Thank you so much, Lovino. You don't know how much this means to me!" Feliciano said.

"I'm pretty sure I do." Lovino said.

And with that, they went back to eating.

As they were eating, Lovino looked up at Feliciano who was eating happily and smiled a bit.

And as he did, a small pang of hurt struck him because even though he told Feliciano that he could live with the German, a part of him still wanted him to stay because if Feliciano was living someplace else, they wouldn't be able to have that brotherly connection that they would have if they were living together.

So, they continued eating in silence for a short while longer before they finally finished their food.

So, getting up and going to the sink with Feliciano following him, Lovino put his dishes in the sink as well as Feliciano's.

Lovino decided to wash the dishes before they went to bed so that they wouldn't sit in the sink overnight.

Feliciano came up next to Lovino then "Can I help?" Feliciano asked.

"Ok." Lovino said. "Here, I'll wash and you rinse, dry and put the dishes away."

"Ok." Feliciano said.

Lovino ran the dish water and made sure that the dishes were clean before handing them off to Feliciano to rinse the soap off before drying the dishes and putting them away.

Since there weren't that many dishes in sink in the first place, it didn't take very long for them to get finished.

"Ok, I'm done! Are there anymore dishes?" Feliciano asked.

"No, that's it." Lovino said, taking the plug out of the sink and watching the water drain out.

"Lovino?" Feliciano called.

"Yeah?" Lovino said.

"Thank you." Feliciano said, wrapping his arms around Lovino and burying his face in Lovino's shirt.

"H-Hey! W-Will you get off of me already, you're getting me wet!" Lovino said, trying to get out of Feliciano's grip.

Feliciano giggled. "I'm sorry, I'm just so happy you said yes!" Feliciano said, letting go.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I only said yes because I was feeling generous today." Lovino said.

Feliciano giggled again. "Well, I'm glad you're feeling generous. You ready for bed?" Feliciano asked.

"Yeah, sure, why not?" Lovino said.

"Good!" Feliciano said, beginning to walk out of the kitchen.

Lovino followed behind him and turned off the kitchen light.

As they made their way up the stairs, Lovino began thinking what his life would be like with Feliciano gone.

And needless to say, he had mixed feelings about it.

On one hand, he would be free from the idiot, yet on the other hand, he would begin to miss the quirky Feliciano.

Lovnio didn't know which hand outweighed the other because they were so evenly matched.

They finally reached the top of the stairs and made their way to their soon-to-be Lovino's room.

When they got to the room they pulled their clothes off, like so many times earlier, and went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. As they were brushing their teeth, Lovino couldn't help but feel empty inside because he knew that sooner or later, this activity that they did together would soon be but a memory.

So, forcing the feeling away, Lovino continued brushing his teeth, ignoring the fact that Feliciano would be moving out in a week or so.

When they were done brushing their teeth, they walked out of the bathroom and Lovino turned out the light.

They walked over to their bed and got in, pulling the blankets over themselves.

They laid there for a short while before Feliciano spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Lovino?" Feliciano called out.

"Yeah?" Lovino said.

"Are you sure you're not mad at me for wanting to move in with Luddy?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino paused for a moment. "No, Feliciano, I'm not." Lovino said.

"Really?" Feliciano asked.

"Yes, really." Lovino said.

Feliciano turned to Lovino then, and wrapped his arms around him again. "Thank you so much, Lovino." Feliciano said, burying his face in Lovino's chest again.

Lovino groaned again. "Ok, ok, Feliciano, I get it. You're very happy. Now, can you please let go of me so we can go to sleep?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano giggled. "Ok. I'm sorry, I just can't contain myself." Feliciano said, letting Lovino go.

"Yeah, well, just don't get too carried away." Lovino said.

"Ok. Goodnight, Lovino." Feliciano said.

"Goodnight, Feliciano." Lovino replied back.

And with that, Feliciano turned over onto his side.

Lovino wriggled around a little bit before finding a comfortable space.

And once Lovino was fully comfortable, that's when the reality of Feliciano leaving hit him full on.

'Wow. Feliciano's leaving. _Now_, what am I gonna do?' Lovino thought to himself. 'I'm gonna be so bored without him. I mean, I still have Antonio, but once I get home, I'll be all alone.'

Lovino heard a soft mumble next to him and looked over to see that Feliciano had already fallen asleep.

'Well…I guess it's not _too_ bad he's leaving. I mean, with him gone, I won't have to sneak around all the time anymore. That's a good point.' Lovino thought. 'Hey, and maybe I can invite Antonio over one day.' Lovino then blushed as soon as he thought of the idea of him inviting Antonio over to his house.

Actually, that wasn't a bad idea.

Since Feliciano would be gone, Lovino could do anything he wanted.

Another good point.

And as Lovino began to come up with more things he could do with Feliciano gone, he started to feel slightly better.

So, finally getting more comfortable, Lovino smiled and began to fall asleep.

Yes, it would all be fine.

Everything would work out.

He could do whatever he wanted.

He could go out whenever he wanted.

He could come back home whenever he wanted without someone worrying about him.

He could have parties.

And he could even invite Antonio over if he wanted to.

Yes, things were beginning to look up now.

Though a part of him still wanted Feliciano to stay.

But it would be for the best.

If Feliciano wants to move in with the German, then he could.

And as long as Feliciano was happy, Lovino was happy.

And with that last thought, Lovino finally fell asleep, wondering what new experiences tomorrow would bring.

* * *

Yay! Another chapter finally done! I'm glad I got to get this one out a lot sooner than the previous ones! What's gonna happen now that Feliciano is planning to move in with Ludwig? Who knows? And hopefully, Lovino can come to terms and let his Feliciano go.

P.S. And if anybody didn't know, Carlos is actually Cuba. It's weird because I wasn't gonna put him in here, but as soon as I thought "ice cream", Cuba came along with it, lol. Funny, right? And so, since he likes ice cream, I decided to have him own the place! Haha! I swear I keep adding characters left and right. I don't know why I keep doing that, lol. I guess I just like having a lot of characters in this story. But I guess it's good to have other characters appear in here, otherwise it'll get boring! Anyway, like I always say, please read and review and look forward to the next chapter! =).


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Hi again, everyone. Looks like the next chapter is finally here. But before I get started, I just wanted to say, AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! So many reviews for the last chapter! Thank you all so much! I love you all! I didn't think this one would be _that_ good! This was, by far, the most reviews I've ever gotten for a single chapter! Whew, now that I got that out of my system, I want to say thanks for all the reviews and sticking with this story for as long as you have been. I should be wrapping this story up pretty soon, and the sooner I get done, the sooner I can get started working on my other stories.

**CookEatShare : **No problem, don't worry about it. I'm just glad you found yet another story to enjoy.

**Shizukan : **Oh, thank you so much! And hopefully, everything will be answered soon, so stay tuned to find out. And lucky for you, I never really mean to make the chapters so long, it just sorta turns out that way.

**Shimitsu-chan :** Thank you for your kind words! I'm glad I was able to keep you entertained with my story. And thank you again for reinforcing my grasp on character personalities.

**KirishimaYui : **Lol. Don't worry about babbling too much, it happens to me too. I'm glad I can make you feel the mood of the story so that's good for me as well. And I know what you mean, a lot of people do expect us to know who characters are. I didn't even know who _anybody_ was a while ago, since I didn't even know they had human names. That, and plus I probably forgot too.

**Rhee-chan : **Lol, don't worry about feeling weird. I do agree, it must feel weird having someone acknowledge you in their author's notes. But I only offer friendly responses, so don't worry.

**Crimsonyaokiku : **You have no idea how many other people have thought that, it's not even funny. But don't worry you'll all find out soon. Can't reveal everything, right? It'll spoil it.

By the way, long chapter ahead. And with all that, chapter 10 starts now!

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Lovino woke up with a loud yawn and a stretch of his arms.

To think, this would be one of the last days that Lovino woke up with someone else in the house with him.

After Feliciano moved out, Lovino would be all alone.

He would wake up to an empty house.

He would wake up to no smell of cooking food coming from the kitchen in the mornings.

He would have to cook for himself now.

And perhaps, the worst of it all, he would have to go to bed by himself.

And that, among everything else, was the most devastating.

He could deal with waking up to no food cooking and cooking for himself, that was the easy part.

He just didn't want to be _alone_!

And with a pang of hurt and a bit of regret that he had ever given Feliciano permission to move out, Lovino turned his head to the spot in the bed next to him and saw that Feliciano wasn't there.

He was gone.

Probably off getting ready to leave him and go live with that damn German.

Feliciano seemed to be getting up earlier and earlier.

Before he had even met the bastard, Feliciano would usually sleep for most of the day before getting up.

And when he woke up, Lovino would always ask him why he always slept so late.

And Feliciano would always reply with a smile and a shrug of his shoulders and say, "I don't know."

And Lovino would always give a humorless snort and go back to whatever he was doing.

And that's how it always was.

A bit monotonous, but still pleaseant.

And now their lives would enter a new phase, a change that was welcome by one but not another.

Lovino just sat in bed, wanting to feel sorry for himself until he heard something.

It sounded like a squeak and his ears perked up then.

As he listened, he heard that the squeak came from Feliciano, not doubt excited about moving out.

And if Feliciano was squealing with delight, then that must have meant that he was either talking on the phone to the bastard or that the bastard was actually _here_.

Lovino guessed the latter.

After all, he _was _always here in the mornings.

Or rather most mornings.

So, Feliciano was still here after all.

Lovino thought that Feliciano would have been gone by now.

Gone, off preparing for his new life and leaving him behind.

Lovino stayed in bed, trying to listen the conversation that Feliciano was engaging in.

But he couldn't make out anything since he was so far away.

The only thing he could hear were the occasional squeals of delight and giggles.

So, finally giving a sigh, Lovino got out of bed to get ready for the day.

When he was fully dressed, Lovino walked out of his room and down the stairs.

On his way down, Lovino heard the conversation get louder as he got closer.

He heard Feliciano giggle yet again and he heard a deep chuckle and a response follow it.

He knew that low, baritone voice very well.

Yep.

He was right.

That damn German was indeed here.

Like he always was most mornings.

When Lovino got downstairs, he walked into the kitchen with downcast eyes.

Feliciano was the first to notice Lovino standing in the doorway. "Lovino! Good morning! I was just telling Luddy the good news!" Feliciano said, happily.

And when Lovino looked up, what he saw was too much to bear and the regret in his chest grew exponentially.

Feliciano's hands wrapped around Ludwig's bigger hands as they were talking to each other.

Why, oh, _why_ had he given Feliciano permission to move out?

Sure, he had seen it as an ok idea, but to see it actually _happen_ was a whole different story.

He could have said "no" after all, and that would have been it.

And Feliciano probably would have never brought it up again.

But he didn't.

He didn't think it would be so hard.

But it was.

Oh, God, it really _was_.

"Here, Lovino, come sit down and eat!" Feliciano said, motioning Lovino over, excitedly.

Lovino did as he was asked and walked over to sit down at the table.

He sat down and squirmed uncomfortably in his chair as both Feliciano and Ludwig looked at him, amicably.

So, making an attempt to move and get out of their sight, Lovino got up to get some food before he was promptly stopped by Feliciano.

"Wait, Lovino don't get up! I'll get it for you. Just stay here and talk to Luddy, ok?" Feliciano asked. "Just tell him what you told me. You said you wanted to talk to him about this, right?"

Lovino didn't say anything and begrudgingly sat back down.

Damn Feliciano.

And with that, Feliciano smiled and got up to fix Lovino a plate.

Lovino watched as Feliciano ambled about this way and that around the kitchen, getting plates and silverware.

He did not feel like talking to that bastard right now.

He was going to take Feliciano away from him, so why _should_ he?

But that would only upset Feliciano if he didn't and he didn't want him to be sad.

He knew it would have to happen eventually.

And it did when Ludwig turned to him and spoke up. "So, you wanted to talk to me?" Ludwig asked.

Lovino continued to watch Feliciano mill around the kitchen. "Yeah." Lovino said, lowly.

Feliciano returned to the table and placed the breakfast in front of Lovino before ambling off again.

"Ja? About what? Feliciano told me you wanted to talk to me." Ludwig said.

'_What_? I never said I wanted to talk to you. I asked why you weren't here discussing this with us when he told me. Stupid Feliciano.' Lovino thought to himself. "Uh, yeah." Lovino began. "So, as I'm sure you already know, I told Feliciano he can move in with you." Lovino finished.

Feliciano came back and set down more plates of food, one for him and one for Ludwig.

"Ja, he told me this morning. Thanks for letting him move in with me. I appreciate it very much." Ludwig said, smiling.

"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome." Lovino said.

Feliciano giggled.

Ludwig smiled back at him.

"_But_." Lovino added.

Ludwig and Feliciano looked back at Lovino then.

"I told Feliciano that he could move in with you on one condition." Lovino said, looking at Ludwig.

"Huh? Condition? Uh, ja, sure. What is it?" Ludwig asked.

Lovino gulped, dreading what he was about to say. He had to say it now, he was in too deep. He couldn't just take it all back. "I told Feliciano that he could move in with you…if you protect him. If you keep him safe." Lovino said. "I told him that since he's moving out, I won't be able to watch over him anymore. And because of that, I want you to keep him safe for me and protect him. Can I trust you to do that?" Lovino asked, looking directly at Ludwig.

"Ja, of course you can!" Ludwig said, with fervor. "I promise I'll keep him safe no matter what! I'd never let anything happen to him!"

Lovino looked down at his food and back up at Ludwig and saw something different in those icy blue eyes.

Confidence.

"I won't fail you." Ludwig said, determination in his voice.

That look was almost too much for Lovino to bear.

"Oh, Luddy!" Feliciano cooed grabbing Ludwig's hand and squeezing.

Ludwig smiled back at Feliciano.

"Alright then." Lovino said, lowly and began eating.

Ludwig and Feliciano began eating as well, Feliciano with a smile on his face, happy that everything was ok and set in stone.

And as they were eating, Lovino couldn't help but feel that same feeling of regret grow even bigger.

He would be so alone without Feliciano.

As much as he didn't want to admit it.

All alone in a big house and no one to share it with.

Sure, there was Antonio, so he wouldn't be _completely_ alone.

But Antonio wouldn't move in with him.

No, not when he has his own house.

The best he could do was come over and maybe spend the night if Lovino decided to have him over, but that was it.

The thought of Feliciano moving out and leaving Lovino all alone was almost too much to bear and too familiar.

Like the time when Feliciano and that damn bastard went on that goddamn cruise without him.

Lovino had tried his best to forget, but it was still in the back of his mind no matter how much time had passed.

It would be just like the first night Lovino came home alone, but this time, it would be forever.

Oh, _God_, would he be able to handle it?

To handle being alone forever?

No.

He didn't think he could.

But he would have to.

Otherwise, Feliciano, ever the worrier, would be fawning over him all the damn time.

"So, how long?" Lovino asked, after taking another bite of food.

"Hmm? How long what, Lovino?" Feliciano asked, looking at Lovino.

"How long until you leave?" Lovino asked, painfully reminded of that same question he had asked, a long time ago.

Feliciano tilted his head in thought. "Ummm. I don't know." Feliciano said, then turning to Ludwig. "Luddy? How long until I can move in with you?" Feliciano asked.

"Hmm." Ludwig said, voice rumbling deep in his throat. "Well, since I've been wanting you to move in with me for a while now, I've already moved everything around to make room for you. Und all we have to do is move your stuff from your house to my house. Und moving all of your belongings shouldn't take too long, so if I had to guess, I'd say about a week." Ludwig finally concluded.

Feliciano giggled. "Oh, Luddy, you're so smart! And thank you for thinking of me like you have been." Feliciano said, smiling.

Ludwig blushed. "J-Ja. No problem. I-It's nothing." Ludwig said, returning to his food, cheeks red.

Feliciano giggled again. "You see, Lovino, you have nothing to worry about! Luddy will take care of me just like you wanted! You see how far back he planned? I can move in in about a week! Isn't that great?" Feliciano asked, excitedly.

Lovino looked up at Feliciano and tried his best to give a smile. "Y-Yeah. That's great. J-Just great." Lovino said.

Feliciano giggled and went back to eating.

Lovino just sat there, eyeing his food.

He looked up at Feliciano and then at Ludwig before looking back down at his food. 'Just…great.' Lovino thought, as he picked up some more food and put it in his mouth.

They ate in silence before Feliciano spoke up again. "Hey, Luddy?" Feliciano asked.

"Ja? What is it?" Ludwig asked.

Feliciano paused as if to gather his thoughts. "Ummm. Do you mind if we start today?" Feliciano asked.

"Start what?" Ludwig asked.

"Start getting my things ready to move, of course!" Feliciano said, happily.

Lovino froze and nearly dropped his fork. '_Now_? He wants to get ready to move_ now_? What the hell?' Lovino thought.

"Uh, ja, sure. I mean, if it's ok with Lovino." Ludwig said, looking at Lovino.

"Oh, please, Lovino, please!" Feliciano pleaded, clasping his hands. "Can we?"

Lovino tried not to get angry at Feliciano's eagerness to leave him behind.

Was he that desperate to leave Lovino all alone?

What kind of brother is that?

And so, finally giving a big sigh, Lovino begrudgingly nodded his head and said, "Ok. You can."

And at that, Feliciano squealed in delight. "Yay! Thank you, Lovino!" Feliciano said, happily.

Ludwig just chuckled at Feliciano's excitement.

A short while later, they were done eating.

After they finished, Feliciano put all of their dishes in the sink and pulled Ludwig by the arm and out of the kitchen so that they could begin the long arduous task of packing Feliciano's stuff.

"Hey, Lovino? We're gonna go get started now. You can help if you want." Feliciano said.

"Yeah, maybe." Lovino said.

And with that, Feliciano pulled Ludwig deeper into the house.

Lovino still sat at the table, wondering how Feliciano would want to begin to pack up so soon.

As he was deep in thought, Lovino was startled out of his thoughts by a sudden movement on his thigh.

A sudden vibrating feeling.

It was his phone.

Taking it out of his pocket, Lovino looked at the caller ID.

It was Antonio.

Looking around to see if Feliciano and Ludwig were out of earshot and, seeing that they were, Lovino answered his phone.

"Hello?" Lovino asked.

"Lovi? Is that you?" Antonio asked.

Lovino narrowed his eyes, sighed and face palmed. "Of _course_ it's me, you idiot! It's _my _phone, isn't it? Who _else_ would it be?" Lovino asked.

Antonio laughed. "Oh, ok, so it _is _you!" Antonio said.

Lovino rolled his eyes. "What do you want?" Lovino asked, impatiently.

"Oh, yeah, um, Lovi? I just wanted to tell you-and please don't be mad at me-that since I'm gonna be busy at my house for a while-you know, watching over the renovations and all-we won't be going on a date for a few days…" Antonio's voice trailed off, voice heavy with lament.

Lovino paused.

"I'm sorry." Antonio said, apologizing.

Lovino almost dropped the phone.

"Lovi? A-Are you there?" Antonio asked, starting to panic.

"Wh-What? You mean I won't see you for a few days?" Lovino almost yelled.

"I-I'm sorry, Lovi! I-It's just that I'm so busy, I-" Antonio said before he was cut off.

"J-Just shut up, already!" Lovino yelled, just low enough so that Feliciano and Ludwig wouldn't hear him. "Wh-What am I supposed to do here all by myself?" Lovino asked.

Antonio didn't respond.

"_Well_?" Lovino asked, viciously, venom dripping from his words.

He could just _feel_ Antonio flinch at his words.

How could he do this to him?

First, Feliciano was anxious to leave Lovino all alone, and now Antonio is saying that they can't go on a date for a few days?

What the _fuck_ is going _on_?

"I-I don't know, Lovi. Y-You could always hang out with your brother." Antonio offered.

And since Antonio didn't know the situation with Feliciano, that comment only hurt him worse.

Lovino felt like crying right then and there.

"Lovi?" Antonio asked, worried. "Are you still there?"

Lovino nodded but then realized that Antonio couldn't see him before he finally spoke up again. "Y-Yes. I-I'm here." Lovino said, lowly.

"Look, Lovi, I _promise_ I'll make it up to you, I _swear_! And I'll try to get done over here as _soon_ as possible, ok?" Antonio asked. "So don't worry, it won't last forever."

"Yeah, ok." Lovino said, lowly.

"I'm _really_ sorry, Lovi! I feel even worse than you do! I told you that I would make up for that last short date we had and now I'm telling you that I'll make it up to you for not seeing you for a few days." Antonio said, apologetically. "Please don't be mad at me, ok?"

Lovino muttered a response. "Yeah, ok." Lovino said, voice low.

"So…I'll see you in a few days?" Antonio asked, hesitantly.

"Ok." Lovino said, simply.

"I'm really sorry, Lovi…bye." Antonio said.

"Bye." Lovino said.

And with that, Lovino hung up his phone.

He stared at it for a while before putting it back into his pocket.

Lovino still sat at the table.

He leaned down to the table and buried his face in his arms.

Great.

Now, this was just great.

Now that Antonio would be gone for a few days, and Feliciano would be busy packing up his stuff to leave, Lovino would be all alone.

Although, he did stop to think and consider Feliciano's offer.

'You can help if you want.' Feliciano's kind words rung in Lovino's head.

And for a split second, he considered it, but then decided against it because seeing himself move Feliciano's stuff getting ready to leave was just too much for him.

The regret grew a lot more, but Lovino was already way too deep in this and it was impossible to turn back now.

Lovino's head hurt from all the things that were going on.

And burying his face deeper into his arms, Lovino felt his eyelids getting heavier. And within minutes, Lovino fell fast asleep, leaning over the table, face buried in his folded arms.

Time passed as Lovino slept soundly at the kitchen table.

He woke up after an unknown amount of time had passed.

Lovino yawned and stretched before looking around. "How long was I out?" Lovino asked, groggily.

He got up out of the chair and walked out of the kitchen.

He looked around and saw bags of Feliciano's stuff packed neatly away in the corner.

And, oh, God, Lovino felt another pang of hurt wash over him as he looked as the pile that was getting ready to leave.

He walked over and something suddenly caught his eye.

Lovino turned towards the couch and saw Feliciano and Ludwig sitting there.

They were in each other's arms, Feliciano's arms wrapped around Ludwig's torso and Ludwig's arm slung over Feliciano's shoulders, both asleep.

Was Lovino asleep all day?

That couldn't be all of Feliciano's stuff, right?

There had to be much more.

Lovino was sure of it.

Lovino then walked out of the living room before looking back at the sleeping couple.

Then, giving a big sigh, Lovino walked out of the living room, leaving them to sleep.

Lovino decided to take a walk around the house to see how far they got in packing up Feliciano's stuff.

Lovino walked through various rooms to see that they have been mostly cleaned out, save for his stuff.

The rooms just looked so _empty_ with most of his stuff there.

And after a week, it will be _only_ his stuff here.

Lovino didn't know how long he walked around the house, inspecting each and every room because he was in a daze, but all he knew was that he came to his room last.

He probably came to it last because he didn't want to see how empty it was.

But he knew he would have to come to it eventually.

And when he walked into their room, to Lovino's shock, it wasn't under furnished like the other rooms had been.

No, it was exactly the same.

So, walking to the center of the room, Lovino looked around, taking in the last views of it before Feliciano moved out.

And as he was looking around, Lovino's eyes fell upon Feliciano's dresser.

Lovino slowly walked over to Feliciano's dresser and, exhaling a shaky breath, he put his hand on top of the dresser.

It was hard for him to believe that after this week, Feliciano would be gone.

Lovino must have been in their room for a while because when he came out of his depressing daze, he heard talking downstairs.

Making his way downstairs, Lovino saw Feliciano and Ludwig getting off of the couch.

Feliciano yawned. "That was a good nap. Sorry I got sleepy, Luddy, I was just tired from moving all my stuff." Feliciano said.

"It's ok. It was nice to take a little break after a while." Ludwig said, rubbing Feliciano's head.

Feliciano giggled. "Ok, where did we leave off? Oh, yeah, we were about to arrange everything. We can just leave them in the corner." Feliciano said, inspecting the pile of things.

"Alright. Well, shall we get the rest of your things, then?" Ludwig asked.

"Sure!" Feliciano said, smiling.

They walked out of the living room and Feliciano bumped into Lovino.

"Huh? Lovino? What are you doing here? I didn't see you when I woke up, so I thought you left." Feliciano said.

"Oh, uh, n-no. I'm still here. I…don't have anything to do for a couple days, so I'm gonna be around for a while." Lovino said, lowly.

"Oh. Ok, then! You wanna help us out? It'll be a lot faster if we have three people." Feliciano said.

"A-Alright. I'll do it…I'll help." Lovino said, reluctantly.

"Yay!" Feliciano said, loudly. "Ok, then. Come on, let's get started." Feliciano said, walking past Lovino, Ludwig following behind.

_Damn_!

Now, Lovino _had_ to help.

He couldn't say no and just let them do the work themselves, that would be rude.

And plus, he had nothing else to do but just sit around the house for a couple of days.

And so, begrudgingly, Lovino set off after the two and began to help pack.

And with every bag of Feliciano's stuff he carried, Lovino felt the weight of being alone more and more, and felt Feliciano slip further and further away.

Towards the end of the day, they had almost packed all of Feliciano's things and placed them neatly, at Ludwig's insistence, in the corner.

"Whew, that was a lot of work!" Feliciano said, plopping himself down on the couch.

"Well, it was much faster with three people. Thank you, Lovino." Ludwig said, turning to Lovino.

Lovino just shrugged. "Whatever. I didn't have anything else to do." Lovino said.

Feliciano looked outside.

It was dusk.

"Well, I think it's a good time to start dinner. I think this is a good place to stop until tomorrow." Feliciano said, getting up off the couch.

"Ja, we got a lot done today. I think that's fine." Ludwig said, agreeing.

Lovino just said nothing as he sat down on the chair on the other side of the room, watching as Feliciano walked into the kitchen.

Ludwig sat down on the couch in Feliciano's spot and smiled at Lovino as Feliciano wandered around the kitchen, getting ready to prepare dinner.

"So, are you excited about finally having the house all to yourself now?" Ludwig asked.

Lovino shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. I guess I can have more freedom to do what I want." Lovino said, still watching Feliciano in the kitchen.

Ludwig chuckled. "That's good. It's nice to do what you want without having someone to worry about you all the time." Ludwig said.

"Yeah, I guess." Lovino said.

Feliciano finally came to a stop in front the stove and began preparing dinner. "I'm gonna make us something good, just you guys wait!" Feliciano said, looking into the living room.

"Take your time." Ludwig said, looking back. "Don't push yourself."

Feliciano giggled. "Oh, Luddy, I'll be fine! You worry too much!" Feliciano said.

"Well, alright. I was just making sure." Ludwig said, turning back around.

Feliciano returned to his dinner making, humming a tune as he put the ingredients in the pots.

"I bet you're going to miss Feliciano's cooking, huh?" Ludwig asked, chuckling. "But you can cook too, right? Und besides, you're always welcome to have dinner with us."

Lovino shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. And yes, I can cook too. It's just that Feliciano does most of it." Lovino said.

"Alright. But just remember, you're always welcome. If you don't feel like cooking one day, come on over, we'd be more than happy to have you." Ludwig said. "Right, Feliciano?"

"Of course! I don't mind one bit! You should really see Luddy's house, Lovino! It's so nice!" Feliciano said.

"Oh, it's not that great, Feliciano." Ludwig said, protesting.

"Oh, Luddy, don't be so modest. There's nothing wrong with having a nice house!" Feliciano said. "Just relax!"

Ludwig groaned, cheeks red from embarrassment.

"Well…anyway, like I was saying…you're more than welcome to come und visit." Ludwig said.

"Yeah…I'll keep that in mind." Lovino said, not really sure if he would want to or not.

"Good." Ludwig said.

A short while later, the whole room smelled of cooking food.

Lovino just stared out the window, not really wanting to talk very much and wondering what he could be doing right now if Antonio wasn't so busy.

"Well, I'm going to check on Feliciano. See how he's doing." Ludwig said, standing up and stirring Lovino from his daydream.

Lovino turned to see Ludwig staring at him. "Ok." Lovino said.

Ludwig smiled and turned around before walking into the kitchen.

Ludwig walked into the kitchen and behind Feliciano, wrapping his arms around his waist.

Feliciano jumped slightly, not noticing Ludwig come into the kitchen.

Ludwig rested his chin on Feliciano's shoulder. "What'cha makin'?" Ludwig asked, casually.

Feliciano giggled at Ludwig's question. "Pasta." Feliciano replied, leaning into Ludwig's embrace.

"Mmm. Smells good." Ludwig said into Feliciano's neck.

Feliciano giggled again, as Ludwig's breath tickled his neck. "Luddy, stop it. You're distracting me." Feliciano said, trying half-heartedly to push Ludwig away from him.

"But I just want to see how you're doing." Ludwig said, sweetly and tightening his grip on Feliciano's waist.

"Oh, alright. You can watch me. But only 'cause I love you." Feliciano said, acting like he was reluctant about his decision.

Ludwig chuckled. "I love you too." Ludwig said, hotly into Feliciano's ear.

Lovino, still sitting in the living room, watched as they openly flirted again and just turned away with a frown on his face.

If stupid Antonio wasn't so fucking busy for a few days, he wouldn't have to witness this.

"Here, Luddy, taste this." Feliciano said, putting a tiny bowl to Ludwig's lips.

Ludwig tasted the pasta sauce Feliciano was making and smiled when he was done.

"Tastes good." Ludwig said, resting his chin on Feliciano's shoulder again.

Feliciano giggled. "Well, it _has_ to! I put extra love in it for you." Feliciano said.

"Well, I'm glad you did." Ludwig said.

"It'll be done in a few minutes." Feliciano said.

"I'm looking forward to it." Ludwig said.

Feliciano spent the next few minutes stirring the pasta sauce and noodles, making sure that they were cooked equally.

With the sauce finally done, Feliciano turned the fire off but not before adding a secret ingredient.

"What are you adding, now?" Ludwig asked.

Feliciano giggled. "It's a secret. You'll have to find out when we eat." Feliciano said.

"Aww, come on. Can't you give me a little hint?" Ludwig asked.

"Nope! You'll just have to wait!" Feliciano said, smiling.

Ludwig groaned.

And with that, Feliciano turned the fire off from under the pot.

"Well, it's done! I hope you're ready to eat, Luddy." Feliciano said, turning around.

"More than ready." Ludwig said, wrapping his arms around Feliciano's waist again.

"And to think, after this week, you'll be eating my cooking every day." Feliciano said, wrapping his arms around Ludwig's neck.

"Ja, it's hard to believe. We can even cook together." Ludwig said.

"It's gonna be so great living together." Feliciano said, putting his face into Ludwig's chest.

"I know." Ludwig said, smiling.

Feliciano giggled as Ludwig began kissing his neck. "Luddy, you know that tickles. Why do you keep doing that?" Feliciano asked.

"Because I love hearing you laugh." Ludwig said.

"Oh, Luddy, you're so good to me." Feliciano said.

Ludwig then pulled away from Feliciano's neck and captured his lips in a passionate kiss.

Feliciano tightened his grip on Ludwig and kissed back.

Ludwig tilted his head and deepened the kiss, pushing his tongue into Feliciano's mouth.

Feliciano moaned into the kiss as the hot, wet muscle made its way into his mouth.

Feliciano was almost lost in the kiss before he remembered that Lovino was in the other room.

"Mmm! Wait, Luddy, stop!" Feliciano said, pushing Ludwig away. "Lovino's still here!"

"Oh, ja, right. I forgot." Ludwig said.

Feliciano turned to Lovino then.

And he was staring right at them, brow lowered and a frown on his face.

"I'm sorry, Lovino. I told Luddy that he was distracting me, but he wouldn't stop!" Feliciano said.

Lovino didn't say anything and just stared.

Feliciano looked at Ludwig then, eyes narrowed.

"I'm sorry, Feliciano. I forgot." Ludwig said, trying to explain himself.

"Stop trying to flirt with me when Lovino's around…he doesn't like it." Feliciano said, turning downcast eyes to the floor before walking over to Lovino.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." Ludwig said after Feliciano.

"I'm really sorry, Lovino. Please don't be mad at me." Feliciano said, trying to explain himself.

Lovino still didn't say anything.

"S-So, uh…d-dinner's ready. Why don't you come to the table and we'll eat, ok?" Feliciano asked.

"Alright." Lovino said, after a long pause.

And with that, Feliciano walked back into the kitchen, giving Ludwig an annoyed look on the way to the cabinets, before getting the dishes out and setting the table.

Ludwig walked over to Feliciano, who was setting the table with an annoyed look still on his face, and tried to apologize again. "I'm sorry, Feliciano. You know I didn't mean it." Ludwig said.

When Feliciano finished setting the table, he turned to Ludwig. "Well, tell _him_ that, not me." Feliciano said, pointing to Lovino. "Lovino, everything's ready, come eat."

Ludwig turned to Lovino and watched as he got up out of the chair as walked past him to sit down at the table.

Ludwig sat down at the table as well while Feliciano began putting the pasta on their plates before sitting down himself.

A short while passed as they sat there in silence.

Ludwig looked at Feliciano who urged him to say something to Lovino.

And so, taking a deep breath, Ludwig spoke up. "I'm really sorry, Lovino. I get carried away sometimes. I didn't mean to flirt so openly." Ludwig said, apologizing.

"Yeah. Ok. Forget about it." Lovino said.

Ludwig heaved a sigh of relief.

Feliciano smiled then. "Well, shall we eat now?" Feliciano asked.

"Alright." Lovino said.

"Ja, sounds good." Ludwig said.

And with that, they began eating.

As they ate, Ludwig made a peculiar face as they ate the pasta.

As did Lovino.

"Uh, Feliciano?" Ludwig called out.

"Yes?" Feliciano asked.

"This sauce tastes different than when I tasted it. What did you put in it?" Ludwig asked.

Feliciano giggled. "Why don't you guess?" Feliciano asked.

Ludwig took another bite and looked at the food, inspecting it. "I see pieces of something." Ludwig said.

"Yes?" Feliciano giggled.

Looking closer, Ludwig eyed the food. "They…look like tomatoes." Ludwig said.

Lovino's eyes widened.

So _that's_ why this pasta tasted so familiar!

Feliciano had put _tomatoes_ in it!

Feliciano just smiled.

"Are they…tomatoes?" Ludwig asked.

"Yes!" Feliciano said, cheerily.

"Tomatoes? Where did you learn to put tomatoes chunks in pasta sauce?" Ludwig asked.

Feliciano giggled. "From Lovino." Feliciano said, looking at Lovino.

Ludwig looked at Lovino. "From you?" Ludwig asked.

Lovino blushed, slightly. "Y-Yeah." Lovino said.

"Well, where did you learn it from?" Ludwig asked, curiously.

"Fr-from a fr-friend. He taught me." Lovino said.

"Well, it's really good. Thanks for showing Feliciano." Ludwig said, smiling.

"Yeah, uh…n-no problem." Lovino said, blushing even more.

And with that, they began eating again.

"Hey, Lovino, since you have nothing to do again tomorrow, could you help Luddy and me, pack some more of my stuff?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino felt like he was struck by lightning at Feliciano's words.

'Since you have nothing to do again tomorrow.'

Even though Feliciano didn't mean anything by it, Lovino felt hurt by his kind words anyway.

"Uh, s-sure. I-I'll help. No problem." Lovino said.

"That's great! I really appreciate it. It'll go _much_ faster! And it'll be a lot of fun!" Feliciano said, happily.

"Yeah. I bet I will be." Lovino said.

And with that, they continued eating and a short while later they were done eating.

Feliciano put the dishes in the sink and ran the dish water.

He then turned around and beckoned Lovino and Ludwig to come wash the dishes with him.

As they were washing, Feliciano sighed, wistfully. "This is nice." Feliciano said.

"What's wrong, Feliciano?" Ludwig asked.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I just said this was nice. You know, just the three of us washing dishes together." Feliciano said. "We should do this more."

"Well, Lovino can always come over for dinner one day." Ludwig said.

"Oh, yeah. You'll come over for dinner one day, won't you, Lovino?" Feliciano asked.

"Yeah. I'll think about it." Lovino said.

"Good. I can't wait until then." Feliciano said.

When they were done washing dishes, Feliciano looked out of the window, it was getting dark outside.

"Hey, Luddy? Can you spend the night tonight, so you can help us pack tomorrow? Or do you have to go to work in the morning?" Feliciano asked.

"Sure. Und lucky for you, I have a few days off." Ludwig said, smiling.

"Yay! I'm glad." Feliciano said.

They walked out of the kitchen and sat down in the living room.

Lovino sat down on the same couch as Feliciano and Ludwig, with Feliciano in the middle.

Feliciano grabbed the remote and turned the TV on.

They spent the rest of the day just relaxing and watching TV.

As the sky got darker and darker, Feliciano yawned, sleepily and rubbed his eyes.

"Boy, I'm tired. What do you say we go to bed? We got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Feliciano said.

"Ok." Lovino said.

And with that, Feliciano turned the TV off and the lights in the kitchen before walking back into the living room.

They then walked out of the living room, turning the lights out before making their way to their room.

Feliciano and Lovino stopped in front of their room while Ludwig walked toward the guest room.

"Hey, Lovino?" Feliciano called.

"Yeah?" Lovino asked, looking at Feliciano.

"I'm gonna sleep with Luddy tonight." Feliciano said. "We need to talk about what we need to pack next and where I can put my stuff when I move in with him."

Lovino didn't say anything.

"Is that ok?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino wanted to say "no".

Oh, _God_, he wanted to say "no".

But he didn't.

Instead, against his inner feelings, Lovino nodded, despite himself. "Yes. It's fine." Lovino said.

"You're gonna be ok by yourself tonight, right?" Feliciano asked.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. It'll be nice to spread out on the bed for a night." Lovino said, trying to smile.

Feliciano giggled. "Yeah. So, we'll just get ready for bed and then I'll leave, ok?" Feliciano asked.

"Ok." Lovino said, walking into their room.

They walked into the bathroom and a short while later, they were finished brushing their teeth.

When they walked out of the bathroom, they stopped in front the bedroom door.

Feliciano then gave Lovino a big hug. "Thank you for helping us, Lovino." Feliciano said.

"No problem. Don't mention it." Lovino said.

"Are you sure you'll be ok by yourself tonight?" Feliciano asked again.

"Yes, I'll be fine." Lovino said, trying to push Feliciano off of him.

Feliciano then released Lovino from his grip and walked towards the hallway. "Goodnight, Lovino. I'll see you tomorrow." Feliciano said.

"Yeah. Goodnight, Feliciano." Lovino said.

And with that, Feliciano smiled and walked down the hallway to the room Ludwig was in.

When he heard the door open and close, Lovino closed the door to his room as well and walked over to his bed and crawled in, pulling the blankets over him.

He was about to go to sleep so that he wouldn't have to bear the pain but just as he was about to close his eyes, he shot up, startled.

'I'm gonna sleep with Luddy tonight.' came the loud and clear words in Lovino's head.

Oh, God, Lovino hoped with all his heart that when Feliciano said "sleep with Luddy", he actually meant _sleep_ with Luddy.

He hoped to God, he didn't "sleep with Luddy" as in fuck him.

And so, he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Lovino didn't know how long he waited, but during that time, he didn't hear any creaking or bumping or moaning or grunting.

Just muffled talking.

Lovino let sigh of relief and a thoughtful, "Hmm."

Guess Feliciano was telling the truth about talking.

After all, Feliciano wouldn't have sex with the bastard.

Not while they were in the same house and after Feliciano got mad at him for flirting in front of Lovino.

Yeah, that's right.

They wouldn't.

What was Lovino worried about?

He had nothing to be afraid of.

And with that, Lovino spread himself out on the bed, somewhat happy that he would have it all to himself after this week.

It was very bittersweet.

On one hand, he would gain a lot more space with Feliciano gone but on the other hand, he would lose Feliciano and he would be living all alone.

Lovino wasn't sure which one outweighed the other.

They were too equal for him to choose between and it was definitely a hard choice for him to make.

Maybe it would become easier for him to make with time, but he would just have to wait and see.

Lovino tossed and turned before he found a comfortable spot and it surprised him how big the bed was without two people sleeping in it. Maybe he could get used to this after all…hopefully.

And with that, Lovino closed his eyes and fell asleep.

The next morning came and Lovino woke up stretching.

He was about to get up and get ready for the day until he realized that he wouldn't see Antonio today.

He had forgotten that he was so busy.

Damn it.

And so with that, Lovino fell back into the bed and went back to sleep, not having enough energy to get up.

What was the point when you had nothing to do today?

In fact, he could have slept all day, if only to not have to endure the long days between him seeing Antonio again.

That is, until Lovino was stirred from his sleep by a knock at the door.

Lovino grumbled, sleepily. "What is it?" Lovino asked, groggily.

No answer.

Another knock.

"What do you want? Just come in." Lovino muttered.

Again, no answer and another knock.

Lovino growled and looked at the door.

Another knock, even louder this time.

"Ugh! Goddammit!" Lovino growled, getting out of bed.

Lovino walked towards the door with a scowl on his face.

When Lovino got to the door, he wrenched it open, impatiently. "_What_?" Lovino said, angrily to whoever had the nerve to wake him up like that.

Lovino then calmed down as he got a look at the person through bleary eyes.

It was Feliciano who had been knocking.

"What? Feliciano? What are you doing?" Lovino asked.

"I was waking you up. You slept later than usual, so I thought I would wake you up." Feliciano said.

"Well, why were you knocking? It's your room too. Why didn't you just come in and wake me up instead of knocking?" Lovino asked.

"Well, the door was closed. I thought you were busy." Feliciano said.

"But didn't you hear me say 'come in'?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano shook his head. "No." Feliciano said.

Lovino groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well what did you wake me up for?" Lovino asked, yawning.

"You were supposed to help us pack today, remember?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino groaned.

_God_, he was so tired!

He stared at Feliciano for a short while through sleepy eyes, contemplating if he should help or not.

Well, he did say that he would help them pack.

"Alright, I'll help you." Lovino said, reluctantly.

Feliciano smiled. "Thank you, Lovino. Don't worry, it shouldn't take long. Just you see, with three people helping, it'll get done _much_ quicker!" Feliciano said, cheerfully.

"Yeah, I hope so." Lovino said, lowly.

Feliciano smiled. "Well, I'll see you downstairs, Lovino." Feliciano said.

"Yeah, yeah." Lovino said, waving Feliciano off, dismissively.

And with that, Feliciano turned and headed down the stairs.

Lovino watched him go down the stairs before he retreated back into his room.

As he made his way to the bathroom to get ready for the day, he stopped and stared at the bed.

And he wanted, desperately, to just collapse on the bed and sleep all day with no annoying interruptions.

But, ignoring his impulse to just jump in bed, Lovino forced himself to go get ready to help Feliciano and the bastard pack Feliciano's stuff.

A short while later, Lovino walked out of the bathroom and downstairs to help with the packing.

When Lovino got downstairs, he was surprised at the pile of stuff Feliciano had.

He didn't realize that Feliciano had that much stuff.

A lot of it was mainly things Feliciano had around the house.

No clothes or anything since Feliciano still had the rest of the week until he moved out.

They were mostly the paintings Feliciano had done.

Paint, easels, brushes and palettes.

Feliciano had painted so many that there was simply not enough room for them in the house anymore.

They had so many paintings decorating the house; it was like a mini museum.

So he had resorted to putting them away until he could figure out what to do with them.

Well, at least now, he had a place to put them.

They spent most of the day packing up Feliciano's painting supplies.

They would leave Feliciano's clothes until everything was moved.

The same routine continued from yesterday.

Packing, followed by Lovino's slipping further and further into depression as he moved things from one room to another.

Feliciano came in with yet another painting as set it down against the wall.

"Lunchtime!" Feliciano said, loudly after looking at the clock.

Lovino looked at the clock as well.

They had been moving things all day.

Just one more day and he wouldn't have to deal with this anymore.

Just one more day and he'll be able to see Antonio again.

Just one more day.

Just _one_ more day.

Ludwig came into the living room then. "What? Lunchtime already?" Ludwig asked.

"Yeah. And besides, I'm hungry. I think this is a good place to take a break." Feliciano said, smiling.

"Well. Alright then. If you say so." Ludwig said.

Lovino and Ludwig sat down in the living room as Feliciano prepared lunch.

Time passed by in a haze for Lovino and he was startled by a hand shaking him.

It was Feliciano.

"Lovino, it's time for lunch. Are you ok?" Feliciano asked.

"Yeah. I'm ok." Lovino said, getting up and walking to the kitchen.

Feliciano followed after him and Ludwig into the kitchen.

After lunch, they arranged the bags into neat little piles.

God, Ludwig and his neatness complex.

It could be very annoying sometimes.

Lovino didn't know how Feliciano could deal with it.

Maybe it was just one of those quirks that couples loved about each other.

Feliciano's messiness and Ludwig's cleanliness.

For God's sake, the two were polar opposites.

Guess it was true.

Opposites _do_ attract.

The rest of the day, like yesterday, was spent watching TV.

Movies, sitcoms, they watched them and everything in between.

Lovino looked out of the window.

The sky was beginning to darken.

Feliciano yawned. "I don't really feel like making dinner. Is anybody hungry?" Feliciano asked.

Ludwig shook his head. "Nien, I'm ok. It was a big lunch." Ludwig said.

"Lovino?" Feliciano called. "Are you hungry?"

Lovino shook his head as well, too. "No." Lovino said, simply.

"Ok, good." Feliciano said, smiling. "Guess we can get ready for bed then."

After they walked out of the living room and up the stairs, Feliciano waved Ludwig off to the guest room.

"What, you're not gonna sleep with him tonight again?" Lovino asked.

"No. We already talked about our plans for when I move in. And besides, I wanted to sleep with you until I move out. Just so I can savor the moments." Feliciano said.

"Oh. Ok then." Lovino said.

"I'm just gonna go tell Luddy goodnight and then we can get ready for bed, ok?" Feliciano asked.

"Ok." Lovino said.

And with that, Feliciano walked down the hall and knocked on Ludwig's door.

Lovino walked into his room and waited for Feliciano.

A few minutes later, Feliciano came back. "Well? Shall we get ready for bed, then?" Feliciano asked.

"Alright." Lovino said.

They walked into the bathroom and a short while later, they walked out and climbed into bed.

"So, how was sleeping by yourself last night, Lovino?" Feliciano asked.

"It was…alright." Lovino said.

"That's good." Feliciano said. "You'll get used to it."

There was a short silence before Feliciano spoke up.

"We're almost done with the packing. All we need to do is move my stuff to Luddy's house. And then we'll come back and move the heavier furniture." Feliciano said.

"Ok." Lovino said.

"Are you…doing anything tomorrow?" Feliciano asked.

"I don't know. It depends if my friend wants to do something or not." Lovino said.

"Oh, ok. Well, that's ok if you can't. You helped me a lot more than I would have asked for. Thank you." Feliciano said.

"You're welcome." Lovino said.

And with that, Feliciano turned over and fell asleep.

As Lovino lie in bed, still awake, he wondered what would happen tomorrow.

God, he hoped that Antonio would be done with whatever he was doing tomorrow.

That way, he wouldn't have to sit through watching Feliciano's stuff being carted off that damn German's house.

And so, eyelids getting heavier, Lovino turned over and fell asleep as well.

When the next morning came, Lovino woke up and, to his surprise, Feliciano was still in bed, fast asleep.

Well, that was weird.

Feliciano was usually up before him nowadays.

Maybe he was just really tired from yesterday.

Lovino didn't hear any movement from the other room and assumed that Ludwig was still sleep as well.

And so, taking this opportunity as a good sign, Lovino fell back to sleep, uninterrupted.

However, this didn't last as long as Lovino had wanted because he was stirred awake by Feliciano. "Lovino, wake up. Wake up." Feliciano said, shaking Lovino lightly.

Lovino grumbled. "What is it?" Lovino asked, sleepily.

"It's time to get up." Feliciano said.

Lovino sat up in bed and looked at Feliciano.

He was standing next to Ludwig.

"The moving truck is here to take my stuff away." Feliciano said. "Can you help us?"

Lovino groaned. "Alright. Let me get ready." Lovino said.

"Ok. We'll get started. Join us when you get ready." Feliciano said.

"Ok." Lovino said.

And with that, Feliciano dragged Ludwig off downstairs to get started.

Lovino walked into the bathroom to get ready for the day and it took everything he had to force himself downstairs to help.

As they put Feliciano's things into the moving truck, the driver of the truck made a joke that was not meant to be taken seriously.

"So, you getting' tired of livin' here, huh?" the man said, not meaning anything by it.

Lovino did all he could to keep from shooting a dirty look towards the man.

Feliciano giggled. "No, it's not that. I just wanted to move in with Luddy here. It's nothing personal." Feliciano said.

Why can't the man just help move things without speaking?

That would be a lot better for Lovino.

Once all of the things were moved, Ludwig came back into the house after chatting with the truck driver for a while.

"He says, he'll be ready to go soon after he secures everything." Ludwig said.

"Good." Feliciano said, getting up off of the couch.

"Ja, so when he gets ready, we'll ride with him so I can show him where I live." Ludwig said.

Feliciano giggled then and turned to Lovino. "Thank you for helping, Lovino. You really helped us a lot." Feliciano said.

"Ja, we couldn't have gotten done as fast as we did without you. So, thank you." Ludwig said, smiling.

"Yeah…no problem." Lovino said, looking away.

Feliciano then walked over to Ludwig and wrapped his arms around Ludwig' torso and buried his face in his broad chest. "I get to live with Luddy." Feliciano said, wistfully.

Ludwig placed a hand on Feliciano's cheek and stroked it with his thumb. "Can't wait." Ludwig said.

And with that, Feliciano rose up on the tips of his toes and tried to kiss Ludwig.

Since Ludwig was much taller than Feliciano, he had to help out by bending slightly to meet Feliciano's lips in a kiss.

And as they kissed, Lovino finally felt the full weight of Feliciano leaving hit him like a ton of bricks.

And the regret that he had been feeling for the past few days had grown into an unbearable pain.

"I'm going out." Lovino said, walking quickly to the door.

"Oh, ok. Bye! Say hi to you friend for me!" Feliciano called after Lovino.

As soon as Lovino hit the sidewalk, he took off running as soon as he made sure he was out of sight.

He was going to his spot.

But Lovino didn't even know if going there would make him feel better.

But it was worth a try.

Lovino broke through the brush that separated the city from the forest to his spot.

The sky was still bright since it was around evening.

Lovino ran until he saw the cliff in the distance.

When he broke through the last few bushes before the clearing, he slowed down once he got there.

He walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down, panting hard.

He then heaved a shaky sigh before sinking down to his knees.

Lovino got down on all fours, still panting from running so long and then, not being able to take it anymore, Lovino burst into tears.

Lovino was shaking so hard with sobs, he fell into a crumpled sobbing mess on the ground.

Why, oh _why_ did he give Feliciano permission to move out?

He didn't know it would _hurt_ this much!

If he did, he would have _never_ given Feliciano permission to move, if only because he didn't want to be alone.

Oh, _God_, he didn't want to be _alone_!

It was just too much to bear.

Going to bed alone day, after day, after day, was just too much to comprehend.

Lovino, feeling absolutely pathetic, gathered himself up and just sat down, knees drawn up to his chest and sobbed into his arms.

He was going to be all alone and there was _nothing_ he could do to stop it.

There was a sudden rustling in the woods somewhere, but Lovino didn't hear it because he was sobbing too loud.

More rustling in the woods but Lovino still didn't hear it.

The rustling stopped as Lovino still hiccupped and sobbed and he didn't even notice the figure walking towards him.

It was Antonio.

"Lovi? I didn't expect to see you here." Antonio said.

Lovino looked up at the sudden sound and turned his head, eyes blurry from the tears.

Antonio continued walking closer. "What are you doing here-whoa, why are you crying?" Antonio asked.

Lovino didn't say anything.

"Whoa, Lovi. Are you ok?" Antonio asked, sitting down next to Lovino. "What's wrong?"

Lovino still didn't say anything.

"Come on, Lovi. You can tell me." Antonio said, putting a hand on Lovino's leg.

"Wh-What's wrong?" Lovino asked, voice breaking. "What's wrong? I-It's n-not fair!" Lovino yelled tears, flowing from his eyes.

"What? What isn't? What's not fair?" Antonio asked.

"I-It's my stupid brother! He gets _everything_! _Why _does he _always_ get everything? It's not fair!" Lovino sobbed.

"What do you mean? How does he get everything?" Antonio asked.

"H-He's gonna move out with his stupid boyfriend and leave me all alone! And he didn't even _once_ ask me how I felt about it! He just went along with it and didn't even _bother_ to ask me!" Lovino said.

"But why is he moving out? Does he not want to live with you anymore?" Antonio asked.

"No, I…I-I gave him permission." Lovino admitted.

"What? But if you gave him permission, then why are you so upset?" Antonio asked, curiously.

"I didn't know it would hurt this much. I didn't know it would be this _hard_! That's why. At first, I thought it would be nice to live by myself, but then I started having second thoughts. And I _wanted_ to call it off but I was too deep in it, I just couldn't." Lovino said.

"Wow, Lovi. I-I didn't know. I'm sorry." Antonio said.

Lovino continued sobbing.

Antonio felt absolutely _horrible_.

If he had known that Lovino was suffering so much, he would have had someone else watch over the renovations.

And he _definitely_ would _not_ have suggested that Lovino hang out with Feliciano while he was busy.

But he didn't know what Lovino was going through.

He had no idea.

And so reaching out, Antonio wrapped his arms around Lovino and pulled him closer to try to console him.

Lovino let himself be pulled into Antonio's grip if only because he was too tired from all the running.

Antonio rocked Lovino slightly. "There, there, Lovi." Antonio said, soothingly and running his fingers through Lovino's hair. "Everything will be ok."

Lovino's eyes widened then.

Oh, God.

When Feliciano and that damn German had left on that cruise, Lovino had wanted someone to hold him and tell him those same exact words.

And here he was, in Antonio's arms, _hearing_ those desired words spilling from Antonio's mouth.

Lovino felt more tears coming and he started sobbing harder.

"Whoa, whoa, Lovi, calm down. Are you still hurting?" Antonio asked.

Lovino pulled away from Antonio and sobbed into his hands. "It's not fair. I-It's not fair!" Lovino said into his hands.

"It's ok, Lovi. Try not to think about it anymore." Antonio said, soothingly.

Lovino looked at Antonio then. "No, it's not that. I-It's…It's." Lovino said, stuttering.

"Then what is it, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

"I-It's just that, my brother's gonna move out and leave me all alone." Lovino said.

"But I thought you said that it would be nice to live by yourself." Antonio said.

"Yeah, but that's not the only problem I have with that." Lovino said.

"Then, what else is wrong?" Antonio asked.

"It's just that when my brother was so happy to move out, it felt like he couldn't wait to get away from me. It felt like he was eager to finally leave me and go start a new life without me in it." Lovino said.

"Well, just because your brother wants to move in with his boyfriend doesn't mean that he wants to have a new life without you in it." Antonio reasoned.

"Yeah, but why didn't he ask me how I felt about it?" Lovino asked.

"Maybe he was just so happy to move in his boyfriend, it just slipped his mind. It happens to a lot of people." Antonio said.

"Well, that may be true, but I just don't want him to leave me all alone." Lovino said.

"Lovi, he's your brother. Of course, he's not gonna leave you alone. He's just moving away. It's not such a big deal when you look at it up close." Antonio said. "Yes, it's true that he's moving away, but you'll still be in his life. He's not gonna forget about you just because he's living somewhere else. No, far from it. If anything, he's gonna miss you. He'll miss all the good times you had over the years. And besides, there's always the phone. He can call you whenever he misses you. Why, I'll bet he'll even come visit one day. Maybe even stay the night just for old time's sake."

"R-Really?" Lovino asked.

"Of course, Lovi." Antonio said, smiling. "So, you don't have anything to worry about."

"I know, but I just don't want to _alone_! I don't want to live by myself! It'll be just like that time when…when…" Lovino said, voice trailing off.

"When what, Lovi? What will it be like?" Antonio asked.

"N-Nevermind. F-Forget it." Lovino said.

"Oh, Lovi. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left you to sit around the house and endure all that." Antonio said, apologizing.

"I just hate all of this. This is so stupid. It's not fair. I never get anything he gets." Lovino said.

"What do you mean?" Antonio asked.

"It's just my brother. He gets everything and I get nothing." Lovino said, darkly.

"What does he get that you don't?" Antonio asked.

"Like his boyfriend." Lovino said.

"Huh? Wait, what? His boyfriend? What do you mean by that?" Antonio asked, suddenly very curious as to what Lovino was trying to say.

"I see them kissing all the time and I've walked in on them kissing before and it just made me realize…th-that…he has someone to love him and I don't. And as much as I hate to admit it, I'm jealous of him for that. I'm jealous that he's in a loving relationship and I'm not. He has someone to love him and I don't…no one will ever love me. Not when my brother has all the talent. And what do I have? …_Nothing_!" Lovino said, bitterly, as he started sobbing again.

Antonio's eyes widened then because he was utterly shocked.

He couldn't believe that Lovino had not seen it before.

_Especially_ after all his flirting and taking him out on dates.

Even _he_ wasn't _that_ clueless.

And so gathering up his thoughts, Antonio spoke up.

"But, _I _love you, Lovi." Antonio said, breaking the silence between them and looking directly at Lovino.

Lovino turned to Antonio, eyes wide with shock. "_Wh-What_?" Lovino said in disbelief.

"I said _I _love you." Antonio said, repeating himself.

"I-wh-why?" was all Lovino could say.

"Because I liked you ever since I first met you. And as I got to see you more, I began to fall in love with you." Antonio said.

"But…I…I-I don't get it. Wh-Why me?" Lovino asked.

Antonio sighed then. "I have to tell you something, Lovi." Antonio said.

"Wh-What is it?" Lovino asked.

Antonio paused, shortly, before speaking up. "When I first came here, I was gonna kill myself."

Lovino's eyes widened. "Wha-k-kill yourself? Wh-Why?" Lovino said in utter disbelief.

Antonio sighed again. "Because. I just couldn't handle it anymore. I lost my job, lost contact with my friends and I was so depressed." Antonio finally admitted, looking away.

Lovino just stared at Antonio, eyes wide with shock, still not believing that the happy-go-lucky Antonio wanted to kill himself.

Lovino was absolutely speechless.

Antonio looked at Lovino then and chuckled. "I know you're at a loss for words, Lovi, but it's true. Yes, I did want to kill myself. I was gonna take the easy way out. But that day, when I first saw you, I couldn't do it. I mean, I couldn't very well kill myself right in front of another person. I took you being there that same day as a sign not to kill myself and that's when I walked forward and talked to you." Antonio said.

"S-So, I-I saved you from killing yourself?" Lovino asked.

Antonio chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you can say that." Antonio said.

"Wow, Antonio. I-I…I didn't know. I'm sorry." Lovino said.

"It's ok, Lovi. You didn't know. No one did." Antonio said.

Lovino didn't say anything.

He had to absorb all that was happening right now.

Antonio wrapped his arms around Lovino again and pulled him close. "But even though you didn't, you saved my live, Lovi…thank you." Antonio said, as he brought his face closer to Lovino's.

Lovino blushed a deep red and instantly pushed Antonio off of him. "Wh-What are you doing?" Lovino almost yelled.

"Wh-What? I-I was gonna kiss you." Antonio said.

"Wh-Why?" Lovino asked.

"Because I love you." Antonio said. "What, you don't want me to kiss you?"

"N-No!" Lovino yelled.

"But why, Lovi? What's wrong with that?" Antonio asked.

"Because." Lovino said, blushing and looking away. "We're both guys…it'll be weird."

"So what? You didn't think it was weird when we went out on those dates." Antonio pointed out.

"Yeah, but I-" Lovino said before he was cut off.

"You what?" Antonio asked.

"I…I…I-I don't know! I-It's just weird right now, ok?" Lovino said.

Antonio pulled Lovino close to him again. "It's wouldn't be weird if we were in love." Antonio said, as he inched his face closer to Lovino's.

Lovino watched in horror, face red, as Antonio's face came closer and closer.

He was about to push Antonio away from him again, but before he reacted, Antonio pressed his lips to Lovino's.

Lovino's eyes were wide with shock as Antonio kissed him.

Finally, getting the feeling in his body back, Lovino pushed away from Antonio, blushing a deep red.

But as soon as he pushed away, Antonio inched closer and captured Lovino's lips again and tightened his grip on Lovino's waist.

Lovino tried to push Antonio away from him but he was just too strong.

And soon, Lovino felt his body lose all feeling again as it relaxed in Antonio's embrace.

Lovino felt like his body was paralyzed as Antonio kissed him.

Lovino didn't know how much time had passed.

He was too dazed from the kiss and could only stare as Antonio pulled back away from his lips.

Antonio chuckled. "You don't know how long I've wanted to do that." Antonio said, smiling.

Lovino just stared back and tried to say something but ending up stuttering words.

Lovino's felt like his face was searing hot.

"Oh, Lovi." Antonio said, holding Lovino against his chest and stroking his hair.

Lovino raised a shaky hand and clutched a handful of Antonio's shirt, as he tried to process all that was going on.

"And don't worry. We'll go on that cruise you've always wanted someday." Antonio said, softly.

Lovino shot up and stared at Antonio in disbelief. "Wh-What? H-How did you know that? I-I never told you that!" Lovino yelled.

Antonio laughed. "No, you didn't, but before I first talked to you, I heard you mention something about you wishing you could go on a cruise." Antonio said. "So, I promise you that we'll go on a cruise one day."

Lovino felt more tears coming as he saw Antonio get blurrier and blurrier. He kept tearing up as he pictured himself finally doing something he wanted to do all his life. "You better not be lying!" Lovino yelled, voice breaking, giving a teary eyed smile as tears flowed down his cheeks.

"I would never lie to you, Lovi." Antonio said, holding Lovino against his chest again.

It took a while before Lovino's sobs died down once more.

"S-So what are you doing here?" Lovino asked, wiping his face.

"Oh, yeah, we're almost done with the renovations and I thought I'd come here to relax a bit. And even though you were crying, I'm glad I got to see you today." Antonio said. "I missed you."

"Oh. So, will you be done soon?" Lovino asked, curiously.

"Why, Lovi? You miss me?" Antonio asked, playfully.

Lovino blushed slightly. "Sh-Shut up. I-It's just boring at my house, that's all." Lovino said.

Antonio chuckled. "I'm just kidding, Lovi. But yeah, I'll be done soon. Do you think you can wait for a little while longer?" Antonio asked.

Lovino nodded his head. "Yeah. I can wait." Lovino said.

And he could.

Now that Lovino knew that Antonio would be done soon, the time from now until Antonio was done could be _much_ more bearable.

They sat there in silence for a while, Lovino in Antonio's arms.

Lovino wished it could last longer, but sadly, it couldn't.

"Well, Lovi. I have to go check on how the renovations are coming along, so I'll see you later, ok?" Antonio asked.

"Ok." Lovino said.

"Good." Antonio said.

"You seriously better not be lying. I can't sit around the house for much longer." Lovino said.

And with that, Antonio released Lovino from his embrace.

Antonio laughed. "Of course not. I told you I'd never lie to you…I'm gonna miss you, Lovi." Antonio said as he rubbed Lovino's head.

And as he did so, Antonio inadvertently stroked the curl on Lovino's head.

"_Ah_!" Lovino moaned out as the stray hair was stroked.

And hearing this, Lovino clapped his hands over his mouth, blushing a deep red.

"Whoa, Lovi. What was that?" Antonio asked.

"N-Nothing. J-Just forget about it!" Lovino said, getting up.

Antonio got up as well. "Ok, then." Antonio said.

Lovino was about to walk away, but before he could, Antonio pulled him into another tight hug.

"I'll see you later, Lovi." Antonio said. "Goodnight."

"Ok. Goodnight." Lovino said, into Antonio's ear since he was leaning into Lovino's neck.

And with that, Antonio let Lovino go.

Lovino then watched as Antonio walked towards the woods before setting off himself.

A short while later, Lovino was coming out of the woods and back into the city.

He walked down the street towards his house.

As he got closer, he saw that the moving truck was gone.

That must have meant that Feliciano and Ludwig were gone as well too.

But that wasn't the case as they were in the house when Lovino came in.

When Lovino walked into the living room, Feliciano was the first to notice.

"Lovino! You're back! We're done moving everything! All we have left to move now is my dressers and clothes and stuff! Isn't that great?" Feliciano asked.

"Yeah. It's wonderful." Lovino said, sarcastically.

"Oh, Lovino, don't be like that! We couldn't have done it without you!" Feliciano said, happily.

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever." Lovino said.

"I was just about to cook dinner. Come sit down." Feliciano said.

Lovino shrugged his shoulders and sat down on the couch next to Ludwig.

"So, we've only got a few more stuff left to move. After that, you'll have the house all to yourself. I appreciate you helping us, Lovino. It went so much smoother with your help. Thank you." Ludwig said.

"Yeah, yeah, don't mention it." Lovino said.

A short while later, Feliciano announced that dinner was done.

Lovino and Ludwig both walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

The sky was beginning to darken as they began eating dinner.

A short while later, they were done eating.

Feliciano was about to go wash the dishes but then decided against it when he yawned, tiredly.

"I'll wash them tomorrow, I'm sleepy." Feliciano said.

And with that, they walked out of the kitchen, heading towards the bedrooms upstairs.

Feliciano decided to sleep with Lovino again tonight since this was one of the last nights that they could sleep in the same bed.

When they crawled into bed after coming out of the bathroom, Feliciano was the first to fall asleep since he was so tired.

Lovino followed soon after, but before he did, he thought about the day's activities.

Feliciano moving his things to be taken away, Feliciano kissing Ludwig, again, him running all the way through the woods and to his spot and finally…Antonio kissing him.

Lovino turned over and blushed as he remembered the feel of Antonio's lips against his own.

Lovino reached up and felt his lips with shaky fingers.

He couldn't believe that Antonio had kissed him.

It was so shocking.

But, all that aside, at least he'd see him again soon.

And with that, Lovino fell asleep.

The next morning, Lovino woke up with more energy than before.

It really surprised him.

Maybe seeing Antonio again finally gave Lovino what he needed to get a goodnight's sleep.

Feliciano was gone, of course, so Lovino got out of bed and got ready for the day.

When Lovino was done, he walked downstairs and ran into Feliciano.

"Oh, Lovino. I was just coming to wake you up. But I guess I don't have to now." Feliciano said, smiling.

"Yeah, I'm up." Lovino said.

"Ok, good. There's still some left over breakfast. You can have some if you want." Feliciano said.

"Ok." Lovino said.

"I'm gonna be at Luddy's house for a while, so feel free to eat as much as you want." Feliciano said.

"Alright." Lovino said.

And with that, he set off into the kitchen to get breakfast.

After Lovino got done eating, he got a call from Antonio.

"Hello?" Lovino asked.

"Hey, Lovi. Looks like I'm all done with the renovations. We can start going on dates again now." Antonio said, happily.

"Really?" Lovino asked.

"Yeah." Antonio said. "So, as soon as I clean up everything, I'll be taking you out for the time of your life, ok?"

Lovino smiled then. "Ok. I'll see you later, then." Lovino said.

"Yeah, see ya." Antonio said.

And with that, Lovino hung up the phone.

This was going to be a fun week.

Lovino could just _feel _it.

A week had already passed but Feliciano still hadn't moved out yet.

Lovino guessed that it took a little longer to plan out Feliciano's moving out.

Since Antonio wasn't completely done with the renovations, he still had to stay home some days.

But that was alright with Lovino.

They could still go out every other day.

On one day, they were finally going to move Feliciano's dressers and clothes.

Lovino had already gone out with Antonio.

When Lovino was out Feliciano and Ludwig were planning to move Feliciano's heavier things.

"Hey, Feliciano, can you get some bags to put your clothes in? We need to make sure that this is as light as can be before we move it." Ludwig asked.

"Ok, Luddy!" Feliciano said, happily.

Feliciano came back with the bags for Ludwig to put the clothes in.

When Feliciano walked out of the room, Ludwig began cleaning out Feliciano's dresser.

And when he did, Feliciano's clothes all but tumbled out.

Ludwig chuckled. "Oh, Feliciano. You're so messy. But I love that about you. As odd as that seems." Ludwig said.

Ludwig then put Feliciano's clothes into one of the bags.

He was almost done cleaning out the dresser until he came across something.

As he picked up a few socks and t-shirts, something dropped out of the clothes.

Ludwig picked it up and inspected it.

He cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"Huh? What the…Feliciano?" Ludwig called out.

Feliciano walked in, smiling. "Yes? What is it, Luddy?" Feliciano asked.

Ludwig took a deep breath before he spoke up. "Feliciano? What is this?" Ludwig asked.

* * *

For the rest of the week, Lovino and Antonio went on many dates.

This one just happened to be a simple trip to the museum.

Normally, Lovino would have been bored out of his mind, but since he was with Antonio, Lovino actually had a lot of fun.

And now they were on their way home.

When they got up the stairs to Lovino's front door, they stopped in front of it.

"I had a really great time together, Lovi." Antonio said. "Again, I'm really sorry; we couldn't go out every day this week."

Lovino smiled. "No, it's ok. As long as I'm not sitting around the house all the time." Lovino said.

Antonio smiled then and leaned down to capture Lovino's lips in a kiss.

Lovino blushed as Antonio pulled away.

"What's wrong, Lovi? You let me kiss you this time. Are you ok? You're not sick are you?" Antonio asked.

Lovino smiled and hugged Antonio, and buried his face in his shirt. "Well, I just thought it would be nice to have a kiss every once in a while." Lovino said.

Antonio hugged Lovino back. "Aww, Lovi, you're so cute!" Antonio said.

Lovino smiled. "Well, maybe, but not as much as that lisp you have." Lovino said.

Antonio released Lovino then and looked at him in disbelief. "What? I have a lisp?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah." Lovino said.

"Oh." Antonio said, simply.

"Well, it's only a little bit! I only hear it every once in a while. It's cute. I like it." Lovino said, blushing slightly and trying to explain himself.

Antonio smiled and wrapped his arms around Lovino again. "Aww, I'm glad you like it!" Antonio said. "Even though I had no idea I had one." Antonio added as an afterthought.

"You're welcome. Now, get off of me." Lovino said, pushing Antonio off of him.

"Aww, Lovi, stop being such a tease." Antonio complained.

"But where's the fun in that?" Lovino asked, opening the front door.

"You're so mean, Lovi." Antonio said, pouting.

"And you're so impatient. Have a little self-control." Lovino said back.

And with that, Antonio walked back to the car as Lovino watched.

When he got to his car, Antonio looked up. "Goodnight, Lovi." Antonio said.

And like every date before, Lovino replied with the same response. "Goodnight, Antonio." Lovino said.

And with that, Antonio got into the car.

When Lovino closed the door, he smiled to himself as he heard Antonio drive away.

Lovino walked forward, feeling happy for himself.

Finally.

_Finally_, Lovino was happy!

For once in his life, Lovino was _happy_!

It hadn't been for a long time since Lovino was in this good a mood, but he was so glad that it had come when it did.

Thank God, this was what he so desperately needed since Feliciano was moving out and all.

Lovino's good mood continued for the rest of the week as he went out just about every night with Antonio.

He couldn't wait until they could finally go out every night again.

Nothing, _nothing_ could ruin his happiness now.

Who cares if Feliciano moved out?

Lovino would be just fine.

When Lovino came home one day, he walked into the kitchen.

He looked around and saw that there were dishes piled up.

Oh, yeah.

Lovino forgot that he was living alone now.

That meant that he would have to cook for himself and wash the dishes by himself, but that was ok.

He was too happy with Antonio to get mad at such trivial things.

And so, Lovino walked towards the sink and began washing the dishes.

Since Feliciano was so busy planning the move in the last few days that he was here, a lot of the dishes had gone unwashed.

Lovino didn't really mind though, because washing dishes was a great way to spend time alone.

Why, it was almost fun playing with the soap bubbles once Lovino really got into it.

Lovino washed the dirty dishes before rinsing them and putting them up to dry.

As he waited for them to dry, Lovino played with the bubbles.

Sure, it may have seemed childish, but it was fun.

Plus, no one was looking anyway and he lived alone.

When the dishes were dry, Lovino wiped them down to dry any traces of left over water from them and put them in the cupboard.

Lovino wiped his brow with the back of his hand. "Whew. Well, that was calming." Lovino said.

Lovino then let the water out of the sink, but before he could, Lovino heard the door slam open and heard loud bawling.

What the _hell_?

Wondering what the noise was, Lovino turned around and was all but tackled by a sobbing Feliciano.

"Wh-Whoa! Feliciano? What the hell are you doing here?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano sobbed, trying to speak, but ended up blubbering. "L-L-Lud-d-dy." Feliciano stuttered, trying to speak again. "H-H-H-He…I-I-I-I c-c-c-can't!" Feliciano sobbed, unintelligibly.

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Feliciano, stop crying. Calm down and tell me what happened." Lovino said.

Feliciano looked up at Lovino then with teary eyes and tears flowing down his cheeks and bawled, "Luddy broke up with me!"

* * *

Whew, that was a long chapter! Whoo, suspenseful, isn't it? What will happen next? To find out, you'll have to stay tuned!

P.S. Hopefully, all or most of people's questions were answered with this chapter. I feel like I did really well with this one. And sorry for the cliffhanger, but I just felt like it would be perfect for this chapter. But anyway, please read and review. And look forward to the next chapter! =).


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Hi again, finally the next chapter is here after what seems like forever. However, before the chapter begins, I must say…AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! 50 reviews! Omg! People said it was good, but I didn't think it was _this_ good! _Never_ in my _whole_ time writing this story would I have _ever_ thought this story would reach 50 reviews. Whew, I got that out of my system, but anyway, I know 50 reviews may not seem like a whole lot, but to me, 50 reviews is a big deal. So, sorry if I seem like I'm overreacting. And since you all were so nice and patient. SUPER, MEGA, ULTRA, LONG chapter ahead!

**skribble-scrabble : **I never really thought about it. It was just supposed to be focused on their relationships and what happens in them, so I never really put any thought into it. Although I did play with the idea a bit, I kinda decided to leave it out. But, I could say that Feliciano is a small time painter, what with all his paintings I mentioned. Keeps the bills paid, you know? And Lovino, I'm not really sure what I thought. I guess he just takes care of the house, lol.

**ShadowKissedYaoi : **Thank you, it makes me happy that you like the story so much. And don't worry, all questions will soon be answered.

**Lovi's Tomato Lover : **Well, hello again! I haven't seen you in forever. Glad you decided to review. I'm glad that you're enjoying the writing style. People like you make me want to keep going.

**KirishimaYui : **Lol, all will be revealed soon enough. I know that's not very satisfying, but I love being cryptic sometimes.

**Shy Guard** **: **Omg, thank you so much! And I know what you mean about long chapters. I'm glad I was able to keep you engaged. And lucky for you, I never really mean to write such long chapters, it just happens. Once I get going, I can go for hours. But I don't mind, I like writing them though. Although, it's a pain go back and proofread the whole thing though, but it's worth it.

**CookEatShare : **Don't worry, it will be. And, lol, you're right. I don't see how Lovino didn't get it. I mean, I know I wrote it, but still, if this were a real situation he'd have to be _really_ oblivious.

**Shimitsu-chan : **And I'm glad I wrote another awesome chapter. And it'll only get awesomer (more awesome?) from here!

And with all of that aside, Chapter 11 begins now!

* * *

**Chapter 11**

"_Wh-What_?" Lovino said, in disbelief and widening his eyes.

Feliciano sniffled and his shoulders trembled as he looked back up at Lovino. "L-Luddy b-broke u-up with m-m-meeee!" Feliciano sobbed.

"Wh-Wh-Why?" Lovino stuttered.

"I-I don't know!" Feliciano whimpered. "I-I tried to ask him b-but he said that I know very well why he's breaking up with me!"

"But _do _you know? Think back. Was there anything you might have done to make him so mad that he'd want to break up with you?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano shook his head. "No! I didn't do _anything_! H-He thinks I'm lying, Lovino! Wh-What do I do? I would _never_ hurt Luddy like that! _Never_!" Feliciano said, before sinking his face back into Lovino's shirt.

Lovino thought for a minute. 'Why would he just break up with him out of nowhere?' Lovino thought. "And you said, he wouldn't tell you?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano sniffled again. "N-N-No! No matter how many times I begged him to tell me, he wouldn't! H-He wouldn't…" Feliciano trailed off.

"But _why_, though? Why wouldn't he tell you? He should at least have a reason for dumping you." Lovino said.

"I-I really don't know! H-He told me that I was just acting innocent and that I was just playing dumb! B-But I wasn't playing dumb, Lovino, I really wasn't! I truly have no idea why! And the fact that Luddy won't tell me, makes me think that I did something really bad! And it's driving me crazy! What did I do? I didn't mean to make him mad at me! I didn't think I did anything wrong! We were so happy together and now everything's gone crazy! I just wish I could find out what did wrong…I just wish he would tell me…but he won't…h-he won't…" Feliciano said, as he dissolved into to sobs, clutching Lovino's shirt for support.

"Well, why don't you wait until all this blows over? Just wait until he calms down. And then you can ask him when he's settled down, ok? Then maybe he'll tell you." Lovino said.

Feliciano shook his head. "No. He wouldn't. He wouldn't even want to talk to me." Feliciano said.

"Well, why not?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano looked back up at Lovino. "H-He said he never wanted to see me again…" Feliciano said, voice barely a whisper.

Lovino's eyes widened. "He did? Come on, it couldn't have been _that_ bad that he said that. I mean, he won't even tell you, so why should he keep it all to himself and keep you out?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano sniffled again. "I don't know." Feliciano said, shrugging.

"Did he at least try to explain it to you?" Lovino asked.

"N-No. He just yelled at me. I don't know what I did. H-He was just so _angry_, I…I…" Feliciano began sobbing again.

"What could just suddenly cause him to dump you out of the blue like that?" Lovino asked.

"I don't know. He wouldn't even let me try to defend myself. I kept trying to ask what I did, but he just kept saying that I know exactly what I did." Feliciano said, softly.

"Well, that's not a good reason to dump someone if they won't even hear what you have to say." Lovino said.

Feliciano sniffled. "A-And the worst part? A-And I still can't believe he said this…b-but the worst part of it all was…he told me that I was a waste of his time." Feliciano said, softly.

Lovino's eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly. "Wh-What?" Lovino asked, in disbelief.

"He could have called me anything. _Anything _that came to his mind. Just not that. _Anything_ but _that_. I could forgive all of what he said…but that. Just that _one_ thing…a waste of time." Feliciano said, quietly.

Lovino was dumbstruck for a second. And then he came back down to Earth. "H-He _what_?" Lovino almost yelled.

"I know…I couldn't believe it either. B-But that's what he said." Feliciano smiled, sadly.

"No, no, no, wait, wait, wait…he called you a _what_?" Lovino asked, voice lowering.

"A-A waste of time." Feliciano said.

Lovino's eyes narrowed, dangerously. "That's it, I'm going over there!" Lovino said, breaking loose from Feliciano and walking out of the kitchen.

Feliciano turned around and ran after Lovino. "Lovino, wait! Where are you going?" Feliciano asked.

"I'm going over there to teach that goddamn bastard a lesson! You don't tell someone they're a waste of time!" Lovino yelled.

"No, Lovino, wait, don't go over there, _please_!" Feliciano said, wrapping his arms around Lovino.

"Dammit, Feliciano, let me go! I'm _going_ over there!" Lovino yelled.

"No, Lovino, please! You'll just make it worse than it already is!" Feliciano reasoned. "I'll be ok, I promise!"

Lovino stopped and turned around and looked at Feliciano in disbelief. "What? You'll be ok? Feliciano, that bastard dumped your ass and called you a waste of time, and you'll be, ok?" Lovino asked. "No, you shouldn't be ok, you should be fucking _pissed_!"

"Lovino, please calm down. You're yelling." Feliciano said.

"I don't _care_ if I'm yelling!" Lovino yelled. "That bastard pissed me the _fuck _off! Who the _fuck_ does he think he is calling you a waste of time? I will _not_ have that bastard act so high and mighty while he hurts your feelings! I'm gonna fuck him up when I get there!" Lovino said, dangerously.

"Lovino, please stop cursing so much. It's bad." Feliciano said.

"So_ what_ if it's bad? People _need _to be able to curse! Cursing gets your point across! Cursing makes people _feel_ your words and how you feel about the situation! You don't get your point across using good manners and actions!" Lovino yelled. "For example, how would you say, 'I'm mad at you' If you were pissed off?"

"Um…I'm _angry_ at you?" Feliciano asked, putting emphasis on "angry".

Lovino face palmed. "_No_! You say, 'I'm _pissed_ the fuck off and I'm gonna _kick_ your fucking ass!" Lovino yelled.

"But, Lovino, cursing isn't everything, there are better more constructive ways to make your feelings known." Feliciano said.

Lovino blinked. "That's it, I'm getting the fuck out of here. I'm gonna show that asshole what for."

"No, Lovino, please don't go!" Feliciano said.

"Why not?" Lovino asked.

"Because I just want everything to be peaceful. I don't want anybody fighting anybody. It's just not worth it. He already hates me. I don't want him to hate me even more." Feliciano said.

Lovino rolled his eyes and growled, before turning to walk towards the door again, but before he could, he was stopped by Feliciano's next words.

"And besides, weren't you the one that said, that I should wait until he calms down before going over to talk to him?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino turned around and growled in anger as he ruffled his hair.

Yep.

Feliciano was right.

He _did_ say that.

And finally, Lovino sighed. "Alright. But you're lucky I said that, otherwise, I would have gone over there." Lovino said.

Feliciano smiled, softly. "Thank you, Lovino." Feliciano said.

"Whatever." Lovino said, as he walked back into the kitchen.

Feliciano then began crying again. "I just can't believe that it's over between us so suddenly." Feliciano sobbed.

Lovino stared at Feliciano as he sobbed into his hands.

And it was then that he wondered. 'Was that what I looked like when I was alone?' Lovino thought. 'When I felt like I didn't have anybody?'

And Lovino suddenly remembered how he had felt like when he was all alone with no one to comfort him and tell him that everything will be ok.

Those many nights when Feliciano had left on that cruise suddenly came back to him.

He'd spent the majority of those nights crying himself to sleep.

With no one to hold him and comfort him.

But that was then, this is now.

_Now_, he had someone to comfort him when he was sad.

But Feliciano didn't.

Not anymore.

Lovino had someone.

And Feliciano didn't.

What a shocking turn of events.

And as Lovino looked on at Feliciano sobbing, he realized one thing.

When Feliciano was gone, he had no one to console him in his time of need.

And now, Feliciano had no one to console him.

But, now that they were _both_ here, Feliciano _did_ have someone.

Him.

Feliciano couldn't be there for Lovino's time of need, but Lovino could at least be there for Feliciano's.

Might as well be there for Feliciano, right?

Even though he couldn't be there for Lovino's.

And then, finally walking over to Feliciano, Lovino wrapped his arms around him in a comforting embrace.

Feliciano sobbed into Lovino's shirt.

Lovino started stroking Feliciano's hair. "It's ok, Feliciano." Lovino said, soothingly. "Everything's going to be ok."

Ha.

Wow.

The same words that he had wanted to be told to him in his time of need were now being whispered to Feliciano.

Funny how stuff works like that.

Feliciano gave a few sobs and hiccups before he nodded his head.

Lovino then began walking Feliciano out of the kitchen and into the living room.

He sat Feliciano on the couch and began rocking him soothingly to console him.

Feliciano's hiccups and sobs went on for a while before he spoke up.

"L-Lovino?" Feliciano asked, stuttering.

"Yeah?" Lovino asked, softly.

"C-Can I s-stay her for a while. A-A f-few days, m-maybe?" Feliciano asked.

"No, you stay here as long as you want to. I told you if anything happens, anything at all, you can always come back. And I mean that." Lovino said.

Feliciano nuzzled deeper into Lovino's embrace. "Th-Thank you, Lovino." Feliciano said.

"Don't worry about it." Lovino said.

Feliciano sniffled. "I-I'm sorry, Lovino." Feliciano said.

"Huh? Sorry about what?" Lovino asked.

"I'm sorry about leaving you to live by yourself. It was selfish of me to want to live with Luddy and leave you here by yourself…I'm sorry… I-I'm sorry…" Feliciano sobbed.

"Shh, shh. It's ok, Feliciano. I'm fine." Lovino said, rocking Feliciano back and forth and rubbing his head. "You don't have to apologize anymore."

Feliciano nodded his head. "O-Ok." Feliciano said.

"It's ok, Feliciano. I don't know why he broke up with you, but we'll find out soon. Don't worry, ok?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano sniffled and nodded. "Ok." Feliciano said.

Feliciano's sobs and hiccups continued for a few hours before they died down into soft whimpers, and then into sniffles.

Lovino continued to hold Feliciano until they stopped completely.

When no more sounds came from Feliciano, Lovino stopped rocking and looked down to see that Feliciano had fallen asleep.

Feliciano must have cried himself to sleep.

Such a sad sight, really.

Someone as bright and happy as Feliciano, crying themselves to sleep.

That goddamn _bastard._

How _dare_ he hurt Feliciano like this?

What had he ever done to hurt anybody?

Not a goddamn thing!

Not someone as kind-hearted as Feliciano.

Lovino searched his mind, trying to figure out what would possess that bastard to just dump Feliciano like that.

But he couldn't find any reason whatsoever.

It just seemed like he wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

What the _hell_?

How weird.

How does _that_ happen?

Oh, well.

Whatever.

He'll figure it out soon enough.

"That asshole." Lovino muttered as he got up from under Feliciano.

Feliciano lay back on the couch before falling over onto his side.

Lovino looked down at Feliciano's sleeping form before giving a big sigh.

He looked out the window and saw that the sky was turning orange.

They had been sitting on the couch for hours, Feliciano crying the day away.

Lovino then began walking towards the kitchen.

May as well make dinner since Feliciano was out cold.

He could make dinner, right?

Feliciano would be hungry when he woke up.

Yeah, he could manage.

Even if he hadn't done any cooking for two for a while.

Not too hard.

Just double the amount of food.

And so, Lovino set to work getting things ready for dinner.

He cooked the only thing he knew could make Feliciano feel better.

Pasta.

Pasta _always_ made Feliciano feel better.

And if pasta didn't work, _nothing_ will.

He'll even add tomatoes to it like Antonio showed him to.

_That'll_ cheer him up.

Hopefully.

Time passed as Lovino stood over the stove, cooking.

As he watched the pasta noodles boiling in the water, Lovino heard the sounds of tossing and turning.

He looked into the living room to see what was going on.

Feliciano was moving around on the couch.

The first signs of waking up.

Feliciano would be awake soon.

More time passed as Lovino moved onto the sauce.

He made sure to carefully mix the ingredients in.

By the time Lovino got done making dinner, Feliciano was already mumbling, sleepily.

He would be awake very soon.

Better hurry up and finish.

Feliciano would be very surprised when he woke up.

So, quickly turning the fire off from underneath the pots, Lovino rushed over to the cabinets to get ready to set the table.

Lovino set the forks and plates on the table and finally looked into the living room.

Feliciano hadn't gotten up yet.

Oh, well.

Might as well go wake him up.

But before he did, Lovino made sure to put the food on the plate first.

That way, it would be the first thing Feliciano would see when he walked into the kitchen.

When the food was on the plates, Lovino walked into the living room and around the couch to wake Feliciano up.

"Feliciano? Feliciano, wake up. It's time to eat. Come on, get up." Lovino said, shaking Feliciano softly.

"Hmm?" Feliciano mumbled.

"I said, wake up. It's time to eat." Lovino said.

"Oh…ok. I'm coming." Feliciano mumbled.

Lovino watched as Feliciano got up slowly. "Will you hurry up, already?" Lovino asked, rolling his eyes.

Feliciano mumbled sleepily as he sat up. "I'm hungry." Feliciano said, rubbing his eyes.

"Well, I cooked, so let's go eat before it gets cold." Lovino said.

"Ok." Feliciano said.

Lovino got up and walked towards the kitchen with Feliciano following behind.

As they reached the kitchen, Lovino heard a surprised sound from Feliciano.

"Oh. Pasta." Feliciano said, smiling softly.

"Yeah, I kinda thought it would cheer you up after…well, you know." Lovino said, trying not to touch on Feliciano's break up.

"Oh, no. It's ok. Thank you for thinking of me." Feliciano said.

"Yeah." Lovino said. "No problem."

They both sat down and started eating.

Lovino looked over at Feliciano to see if he was at least enjoying the food.

He was.

And thank God, he was smiling again.

Even if it was just a little one.

"This is really good, Lovino." Feliciano said.

"Thanks." Lovino said, before shoveling another forkful of pasta into his mouth.

"Did you put tomatoes it this?" Feliciano asked.

"Yeah." Lovino said. "_A lot_. I figured since you liked it so much, I would put a bit more into the sauce."

"I do. Thank you." Feliciano said, smiling.

"Don't mention it." Lovino said.

Feliciano giggled softly. "You always know how to cheer me up when I'm feeling sad, Lovino." Feliciano said.

"Yeah? Well, I'm _supposed_ to. I _am_ your brother after all." Lovino said.

"Yeah. I guess that's true. But still, it's nice that you did that. I'm glad. Otherwise, I'd probably still be crying my eyes out." Feliciano said.

"Yeah, probably." Lovino said, trying to laugh and make Feliciano feel better.

Feliciano giggled, softly.

Ok, that was good.

At least he's feeling a little bit better.

At least Lovino was on the right track to get Feliciano laughing again.

So that was a really good start.

And so, they continued eating dinner, making small talk and carrying on despite what was weighing heavily on their minds.

However, Lovino did try to make sure to keep Feliciano's mind away from the problem at hand.

When they had finished eating, they put the dishes in the sink.

Lovino just left them there since he didn't feel like washing dishes again.

He'll get them next time.

But for now, they can just relax.

So, walking out of the kitchen, they both went into the living room and sat down on the couch.

Lovino grabbed up the remote and turned the TV on.

"Do you want to watch anything?" Lovino asked.

"I'm ok with whatever you want." Feliciano said.

"Alright." Lovino replied.

Lovino flipped through different channels before finally settling on something they both agreed on.

They spent the rest of the day watching TV in somewhat comfortable silence.

And every now and then, Lovino would sneak a peek at Feliciano just to see how he was doing.

No signs of anymore tears yet, so that was good.

So far, Feliciano seemed to be doing alright.

For now.

Hopefully, it stays like that.

Lovino looked out the window again and saw that night was approaching.

It would be time to go to bed soon.

Lovino hoped that Feliciano would survive the night without that bastard.

Smug asshole.

Kicking Feliciano out after it had been _his_ idea for him to move out in the first place.

Feliciano just followed, happily.

He had no idea what was going to happen.

No idea at all.

When nightfall finally came, Feliciano yawned, sleepily. "I'm tired." Feliciano said.

"Yeah, me too. Come on, let's go to bed." Lovino said.

"Ok." Feliciano said.

Lovino turned off the TV and got up of the couch.

Feliciano got up too and followed Lovino upstairs.

When they got upstairs, Lovino walked into the bedroom but Feliciano continued down the hall.

Lovino turned around, not hearing Feliciano behind him. "Feliciano? Where are you going?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano turned around. "Huh? I'm going to the guest room." Feliciano answered back.

"Why?" Lovino asked.

"Because I don't live here anymore. I'm a guest." Feliciano said, softly.

Lovino scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Idiot. Get back here. I told you that you can always come back if something happens. You're not a guest." Lovino said, annoyed.

"Oh…ok. Are you sure?" Feliciano asked, hesitantly.

"Yes, I'm sure, stupid. Now, get over here. I don't wanna have to leave my room in case you start crying again." Lovino said.

Feliciano smiled. "Ok, then." Feliciano said, walking back to Lovino's bedroom.

After they walked out of the bathroom, they climbed into bed and pulled the blankets up.

"Lovino?" Feliciano called out.

"Yeah?" Lovino asked.

"Thank you for letting me stay here." Feliciano said.

"Yeah, yeah. You know, this is still your house too. Just because you left doesn't mean you have to act like you're a guest every time you come back. Just make yourself at home. It'll be just like old times." Lovino said.

"Ok." Feliciano said. "But I still wanted to thank you though. For making me feel better."

"Yeah, you're welcome." Lovino said.

"Goodnight, Lovino." Feliciano said.

"Goodnight, Feliciano." Lovino answered back.

And with that, Feliciano turned over and fell asleep.

Lovino, on the other hand, as usual, stayed up, thinking.

Hmm.

Since Feliciano probably isn't going to want to be alone tomorrow, Lovino would have to stay home and do damage control.

So he wouldn't be able to see Antonio tomorrow.

But that was ok.

He didn't want Feliciano to be alone and no one to comfort him all day.

He could stay here with Feliciano, if only just to comfort him.

He didn't mind.

He could see Antonio anytime.

He could just call Antonio tomorrow and tell him what happened.

He'll understand.

They could go out again when all this blows over.

And hopefully, that would be very soon.

And with that final thought, Lovino turned over and went to sleep as well.

Hopefully, tomorrow would be a much _much_ better day.

Lovino woke up to the smell of food cooking.

He sat up in bed and saw that Feliciano was gone.

Curious, Lovino got up out of bed and walked downstairs.

When he got to the bottom floor, he heard noises coming from the kitchen.

When he walked into the kitchen, Lovino saw that Feliciano was cooking.

"Feliciano?" Lovino called. "What are you doing?"

Feliciano looked up. "Oh, Lovino. Good morning. I'm making breakfast. I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep, so I decided to just get up." Feliciano said.

"Oh…ok, then. Well, I was just making sure." Lovino said.

"No, I'm ok, Lovino. Come on, sit down. It's almost done." Feliciano said.

"Alright." Lovino said, walking over to the table.

When Feliciano finished making breakfast, they ate together, talking amongst each other as if Feliciano had never moved out at all.

It really _was_ like old times, after all.

After they got done eating and cleaning the table off, they sat in the living room, watching TV.

As they were watching TV, Lovino got a phone call.

He took his phone out of his pocket and looked at it.

And, of course, it was Antonio.

And so, excusing himself, Lovino walked out of the living room and into a hallway where Feliciano couldn't hear him.

"Hello?" Lovino asked, answering the phone.

"Hey, Lovi! How are you?" Antonio asked, cheerfully.

"I'm fine." Lovino said.

"Good, good. Hey, uh, listen, Lovi? I can't take you out today. I'm busy cleaning up after the renovations and all, and I'll be busy all day. So, I'm sorry, we won't be able to see each other today." Antonio said.

Lovino paused.

Well.

He was going to tell Antonio pretty much the same thing.

Oh well.

Antonio beat him to it.

Might as well take it.

"Ok." Lovino said, simply.

"'Ok'? Are you sure, Lovi?" Antonio asked, surprised.

"Yeah. No big deal. We can see each other next time." Lovino replied.

"Wait, so you're not mad?" Antonio asked.

"What? No, I'm not mad. Why would I be mad?" Lovino asked.

"It's just that…well, I didn't think you'd take it so well." Antonio admitted.

"No, it's fine. Do what you have to do. I'll be fine. I have things to do here anyway." Lovino said.

"Umm. O-Ok then. A-Are you ok, Lovi? Are you sick or something?" Antonio asked.

Lovino scoffed. "No, stupid, I said I was fine. Go on, do whatever you have to do. We'll see each other again, ok?" Lovino asked.

"Oh…ok, then. Well…I'll see you later, Lovi, ok?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll see you later." Lovino said.

And with that, Lovino hung up the phone and walked back into the living room and sat back down on the couch.

"Who was that, Lovino?" Feliciano asked.

"A friend." Lovino replied back.

"Oh. Ok, then." Feliciano said, and turned back to watch TV.

They spent most of the day just watching TV.

Since none of them would be going out that day, there was nothing much to do but watch TV.

Movies, sitcoms, and everything in between went by in a comfortable silence, save for Lovino and Feliciano talking about what was on TV.

Yes, it was truly like old times.

Just then the doorbell rang.

Lovino's cocked an eyebrow in confusion.

What the…

Was that Antonio?

'Huh? I thought he said that we weren't going to see each other.' Lovino thought to himself.

Lovino was about to get up when he was stopped by Feliciano.

"Oh, don't worry, Lovino, I'll get it." Feliciano said, getting up.

Lovino stared at Feliciano for a short while before shrugging his shoulders and settling back down into the couch.

Lovino watched as Feliciano walked out of the living room and into the hallway where the front door was.

No.

That _couldn't_ be Antonio.

There was no way that he could get here that quick after talking to him.

Let alone clean up once the renovations were done.

And plus, he said it'd take him all day to finish cleaning up.

So, it couldn't _possibly_ be him.

But then if it wasn't Antonio who rang the doorbell then who could it have possibly been?

"Feliciano?" Lovino called out. "Who's at the door?"

No answer.

"Feliciano?" Lovino called out again. "Who is it?"

Still no answer from Feliciano.

Lovino shrugged and just left it alone.

He figured that Feliciano was just talking to the person at the door.

Oh, well.

No big deal, right?

And, so, Lovino decided to just forget about it and let Feliciano handle it.

And as Lovino continued watching TV, he started to get a little worried about Feliciano.

What was taking him so long to get back?

What could they possibly be talking about that had Feliciano at the door so long?

Lovino continued watching TV when all of a sudden, he heard a loud wailing sound.

"What the hell?" Lovino asked.

Lovino listened for a little while longer.

What the hell was that sound?

The wailing continued and it sounded strangely…familiar.

Lovino's eyes widened then. "That sounds like Feliciano!" Lovino said.

And with a quick burst of adrenaline, Lovino jumped up from the couch and ran towards the front door.

It was open and Feliciano was standing at the bottom step.

He was sobbing.

Loudly.

Lovino walked closer to the doorway.

And as he did, he saw that Feliciano was looking down at something.

"Feliciano? Are you ok? What's wrong?" Lovino asked, concerned.

Lovino reached the threshold of the front door and looked down at Feliciano.

He saw that he was standing in front of something.

He looked closer and saw that what Feliciano was standing in front of.

It was a pile.

A pile of bags.

What the hell was going on?

"Feliciano? Are you ok? What is all that?" Lovino asked, stepping out onto the steps.

Feliciano turned around, tears in his eyes. "Lovino." Feliciano whimpered.

Feliciano turned back around, sobbing.

And it was then, that Lovino realized that the pile of bags that Feliciano was standing in front of were his.

He was standing in front of his stuff.

Feliciano's stuff.

Tossed uncaringly at the front of their house.

Lovino came down the steps a bit more. "Feliciano?" Lovino called out, softly.

"Th-This is all m-my stuff." Feliciano whimpered through his sobs.

Lovino walked down the steps a bit more. "What? Your stuff?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano whimpered and nodded his head.

And then Lovino came down the steps until he was at Feliciano's side.

He was sobbing uncontrollably.

And he was looking down at something.

Lovino followed Feliciano's teary-eyed gaze and saw that it was glued on something.

"What the hell is that?" Lovino asked, eyeing the unknown thing attached to one of the bags.

Feliciano whimpered and sank down to his knees in a quivering slump.

Lovino continued looking at it until he finally realized what it was.

A note.

It was a note attached to one of the bags.

And on it, was handwriting.

Lovino bent down and took it off before looking it over.

And on that note were letters scrawled in angry red ink.

Lovino read the note aloud. "'_Here! Take your all of shit back! I don't want anything in my house that reminds me of you! I can't believe I wasted my time on you! I didn't think that you'd do this to me! Have a nice life without me in it!_'" Lovino said, reading the note.

Lovino's hand dropped to his side.

Feliciano whimpered and wrapped his arms around the pile of his things. "Luddy!" Feliciano sobbed.

As Feliciano held his pile of stuff, they heard something fall onto the ground.

Lovino looked down to see what it was.

He picked it up and saw that it was a smashed picture of Feliciano and that bastard posing happily, his arms wrapped around Feliciano.

Pieces of glassed dropped out of the picture frame.

"Uh…Feliciano?" Lovino called out.

Feliciano whimpered again. "Y-Yes?" Feliciano asked.

"Um…I, uhh…" Lovino trailed off, not sure if he should show Feliciano the picture or not.

But then again, it _was_ the only Feliciano could be with the bastard.

If only in picture form.

"Wh-What is it?" Feliciano asked, looking up at Lovino.

Lovino shuffled his feet, uncomfortably. "Well…it's uhh…" Lovino trailed off, bringing a shaky hand from behind his back. "I-I found this on the ground."

"Huh? What is it? I can't see it." Feliciano said.

"I-It's a, uh…a picture." Lovino said, looking away.

"Wh-What? I-It is?" Feliciano asked. "B-But I can barely see it."

Feliciano then took the shattered picture from Lovino's hands and studied it closely.

"Yeah. He must have been pretty mad to smash it up like that." Lovino said.

When Feliciano finally realized what it was a picture of, he began sobbing even harder and he hugged to his chest, tightly. "Luddy!" Feliciano sobbed as he doubled over, convulsing with loud and heavy sobs.

Lovino looked down at the sobbing Feliciano and, not being able to take it any longer, knelt down next to Feliciano and put his hand on his shoulder. "It's ok, Feliciano. Calm down." Lovino said, trying to sooth Feliciano.

Feliciano shook his head. "N-No! It won't be! I-It's over. It's officially over b-between us!" Feliciano sobbed.

Lovino rubbed Feliciano's shoulder, soothingly. "Go back in the house, Feliciano. You'll attract the entire neighborhood. I'll bring your stuff in the house, ok?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano nodded and tried to stand up.

But he ended falling back down, due to his quivering knees.

And so, Lovino helped him stand up and walked him up the stairs and into the house.

Lovino walked Feliciano into the living room and sat him down on the couch.

Feliciano was still shaking and sobbing uncontrollably.

Lovino continued rubbing Feliciano's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze before getting back up and walking to the front door.

"I'll be right back, Feliciano. I'm just going to go get your stuff and I'll be right back, ok?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano nodded his head and gave another loud sob.

And with that, Lovino walked out into the hallway and towards the front door.

As he walked to the door, he heard Feliciano's hiccups and sobs from the living room.

Poor Feliciano.

He did not deserve to be hurt like that.

Lovino walked down the stairs and began to gather up Feliciano's things.

He had to make a few trips back and forth.

He would rearrange them later, but for right now, he'll put them in the corner.

"That goddamn bastard." Lovino whispered, dangerously as he grabbed up another bag. "Why the _fuck_ would he _do_ this?"

Lovino walked into the living room and set down another bag before going back outside.

But before he did, he looked down at Feliciano and saw that he was now lying down and still clutching that picture tightly to his chest and sobbing.

"That fucking asshole!" Lovino seethed. "And that note? What the _fuck_? Who the fuck _does_ something like that?"

Lovino made a few more trips in and out of the house before finally getting done moving Feliciano's things.

"There. I got all of your stuff, Feliciano. You're gonna be ok now." Lovino said.

Feliciano said nothing and only sniffled.

Goddamn that stupid bastard.

_Just_ when he had finally gotten Feliciano feeling better, here _he _come and_ fucks_ it all up!

So annoying.

_Now_, he had to cheer Feliciano up all over again.

And _this _time, he'd have to work even _harder_!

Lovino looked at Feliciano and saw that his hands were bleeding.

"Feliciano, give me the picture. You're bleeding." Lovino said, walking over to Feliciano.

Feliciano was still clutching the picture tightly.

He wouldn't let go even as Lovino tried to take it from him.

"Feliciano, let go! You're bleeding really badly!" Lovino yelled.

Feliciano let go and looked at his hands.

They were dripping with blood.

He was clutching the picture so tightly that he didn't even realize that the broken glass was cutting into his hands.

Lovino took the picture from Feliciano and set it down on the coffee table.

He'll have to get that fixed later, but for right now, he needed to tend to Feliciano's bloody hands.

"Stay here, Feliciano, I'm going to go get something to clean your hands with. I'll be right back." Lovino said.

And with that, Lovino got up and walked to the bathroom.

A short while later, Lovino came back with towels, alcohol, tweezers, and a box of band aids.

When Lovino walked back into the living room, he saw Feliciano sitting up and staring at the blood dripping from his hands and onto the floor.

Lovino walked forward and set the items down on the coffee table.

Before he got started, Lovino wiped up the drops of blood from the floor.

He then put the towel underneath Feliciano's hands to catch the blood.

Lovino then got up and sat down on the couch next to Feliciano and picked up the tweezers.

He began picking out the pieces of glass embedded into Feliciano's skin.

Lovino put the tiny shards of glass on the table.

Once he got done getting all the glass out of Feliciano's hands, Lovino set to work cleaning the wounds.

Lovino took up a small towel and wet it down with a small amount of alcohol.

He then grabbed one of Feliciano's hands. "Now, this is gonna sting, so get ready." Lovino warned.

And with that, Lovino pressed the alcohol dampened cloth onto Feliciano's skin.

Feliciano hissed inwardly as Lovino cleaned his cuts.

"It's ok, Feliciano, I'm just cleaning it." Lovino said.

Feliciano whimpered in response.

When Lovino finished one hand, he moved onto Feliciano's other hand.

And every time Lovino pressed to towel down, Feliciano flinched.

Lovino finished cleaning Feliciano's other hand.

Now, all that was left to do was put the band aids on.

Lovino opened the box and put a few band aids on both of Feliciano's hands.

Good thing Feliciano didn't cut himself _too_ much.

Otherwise, his hands would be covered in band aids.

Feliciano just stared at his hands as Lovino put the finishing touches on them.

"There! All done." Lovino said, as he began gathering up all of the items.

Lovino went back into the bathroom and put everything back before putting the towels in the laundry room.

He returned to the living room to see Feliciano staring, heartbroken, at the shattered picture of him and Ludwig.

Lovino walked over and scooped up the pieces of broken glass on the table and in the picture and put them in the recycling bin before return to the living room.

He sat back on the couch and saw Feliciano still staring at the picture.

All that was left of it was a glassless frame with the picture still inside of it.

"I'll have to get that fixed." Lovino said.

Feliciano sniffled. "Thank you, Lovino." Feliciano said.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Lovino said.

Feliciano sighed, sadly.

Lovino wrapped his arms around Feliciano and pulled him in close. "Forget about it, Feliciano. You don't need that bastard." Lovino said.

Feliciano then whimpered and began sobbing quietly into Lovino's shirt, clutching it in his fists for support.

Lovino rocked back and forth; stroking Feliciano's hair like a mother would, and tried to console him.

And once again, like yesterday, Feliciano cried himself to sleep in Lovino's arms.

And Lovino, seeing that Feliciano fell asleep, decided to make dinner again.

However, he didn't know if his pasta would cheer Feliciano up this time around.

But hey, it was still worth a shot.

When Lovino got done cooking, he walked into the living room and woke up Feliciano.

And like yesterday, he had the food ready and waiting.

But, unlike yesterday, Feliciano didn't respond to the pasta like Lovino had hoped he would.

No.

He just sat down and started eating.

Lovino sat down and joined him.

And as they ate, Lovino saw that Feliciano was just eating.

No smile on his face.

No nothing.

Just a blank expression.

That stupid goddamn bastard always had to fuck everything up, didn't he?

When dinner was done, it was nighttime and Lovino walked Feliciano up the stairs and into their bedroom.

After getting ready for the night, they both climbed into bed.

"Tomorrow, I'll move all your stuff back to where it used to be, ok?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano nodded. "Ok, Lovino." Feliciano said, softly.

"So, are you ok now?" Lovino asked, concerned.

"Yeah…I'm ok." Feliciano answered.

Lovino looked over at Feliciano then and saw that it looked like he was about to cry again.

"Are you sure?" Lovino asked.

"Yes…I'm s-sure." Feliciano said, turning over.

Lovino looked up at the ceiling, waiting for the inevitable.

And he didn't have to wait long.

Because a few minutes later, Feliciano burst into tears again.

Sighing, Lovino turned Feliciano over again and embraced him. "Shh, shh. It's ok, Feliciano. Calm down. Don't think about it anymore." Lovino said.

"B-But I _can't_!" Feliciano sobbed. "I miss him!"

"Well, he doesn't miss_ you_!" Lovino said.

Feliciano stopped. "Wh-What?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino sighed. "I'm sorry I had to say that, Feliciano, but he doesn't. He's probably having a good night's sleep right now while you're over here crying." Lovino said.

Feliciano just whimpered as a response.

"And besides, you saw that letter he wrote. He was clearly really pissed off. I don't think he's gonna calm down anytime soon. So until he does, you have to stop thinking about him. Otherwise, you're not gonna make it." Lovino said.

"But I can't! I keep thinking about what I did wrong and I can't come up with anything! It feels like he did it just to get rid of me! And I keeps driving me crazy because I don't know!" Feliciano cried.

"That's why you have to wait until he calms down. Just wait until then and then you can go over there and ask him, ok? Maybe then he'll tell you." Lovino said.

"O-Ok." Feliciano said.

Lovino tightened his embrace on Feliciano. "It's gonna be ok, alright? So, just try not to think about it anymore." Lovino said.

Feliciano whimpered. "Luddy!" Feliciano sobbed.

Lovino rubbed Feliciano's head for a while until he finally calmed down a bit.

Feliciano's pillow was soaked with his tears.

And again, Lovino wondered if this is what he looked like the night Feliciano went on that cruise so long ago.

Yeah, most likely.

Feliciano's sobs were now reduced to sniffles and the occasional whimper. "Luddy!" Feliciano whimpered.

Lovino felt bad for Feliciano.

He really did not deserve this.

Feliciano still had tears coming from his eyes as he lay next to Lovino. "Luddy!" Feliciano whimpered out again.

"Just calm down, ok. You're almost there." Lovino soothed.

And it wasn't long before Feliciano fell asleep in his tear soaked pillow.

Lovino sighed. "Finally, now, maybe I can get some sleep." Lovino said.

And with that Lovino turned over and went to sleep.

The road to Feliciano's recovery would be a long one.

But he had to hang in there.

Both of them.

The next day was pretty much the same as yesterday.

Feliciano would cry and Lovino would be there to comfort him.

Lovino got a phone call from Antonio telling him that they could go out today, but Lovino refused, telling him that he had important things to do.

Antonio understood and asked about tomorrow.

Lovino only said "maybe."

He wasn't so sure _when_ he'd see Antonio again since he was so busy with Feliciano.

That day had gone by without much incident but the day after that was worse.

Lovino had forgotten to put the picture of Feliciano and Ludwig up and as soon as Feliciano's eyes fell upon it, he burst into tears again.

And again, Lovino got another phone call from Antonio.

"Hey, Lovi! So, what do you wanna do today?" Antonio asked.

"Sorry, I can't go out today. I have some…_things_ to attend to." Lovino said.

"Huh? Things? What kind of things? And-wait what's that I hear?" Antonio asked.

Lovino looked around and saw that Feliciano was still sobbing loudly. "Oh, uh, n-nothing!" Lovino said, wishing Feliciano would just shut up.

"What? Nothing? It sure doesn't sound like nothing." Antonio said.

"Oh, uh, yeah. It's just the TV!" Lovino said.

"But it sounds so close. Lovi? What's going on?" Antonio asked.

"Nothing! Nothing's going on!" Lovino said.

"Lovi? Are…you ok?" Antonio asked.

Lovino tried to laugh, acting like everything was fine. "Yeah! I'm perfectly fine! Look, I gotta go! I'll see you later, ok? Bye!" Lovino said.

And with that, Lovino hung up the phone.

He came back into the living room and sat down.

"Phew! That was close." Lovino said.

And again, like so many times before, Lovino pulled Feliciano in to comfort him.

But not before taking the picture and putting it where Feliciano wouldn't see it.

"There, there. It's alright, Feliciano. It's been a few days now. See you're doing it! We'll just go one day at a time." Lovino encouraged.

Lovino continued holding Feliciano until he fell asleep.

Wow.

Crying really took a lot out of Feliciano.

And Lovino too.

A few more days passed as Lovino continued to comfort and console Feliciano.

And each day, he turned down Antonio's offers to go out on a dates.

Since he was so busy with Feliciano and all.

And since Feliciano didn't want to be alone, he couldn't go out and leave him to his own devices.

He wouldn't know what do with himself.

And as Lovino kept denying and Antonio a chance to go out, Antonio called back each day, more worried than the last.

"Lovi? Are you sure you're ok? It's been a whole week since I saw you last. Do you need help with something? Is there anything I can do for you? Because I'll do it if you want me to." Antonio said.

"No, Antonio, I don't need you to do anything. I'm just…going through some stuff right now. I'm sorry." Lovino said.

"But are you sure? I can-" Antonio said, before he was cut off.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Lovino snapped. "Look…I gotta go. I'll…see you later, ok? Bye." Lovino said, before he hung up.

Lovino spent the rest of the week with Feliciano.

He hadn't seen Antonio for two whole weeks now.

Damn, when can he go out and just have _fun_ again?

And so, Lovino spent most of the week comforting Feliciano.

We became the cook now since Feliciano was too distraught to do so.

Damn, had that break up really fucked Feliciano up _that_ much to where he couldn't do _anything_?

Well, it looks like it.

Lovino sat on the couch doing damage control with Feliciano.

Lovino was surprised that Feliciano could cry this much.

It was unbelievable.

So, Lovino just went with the flow as normally as he could.

But then it struck him.

When he was consoling Feliciano, it struck him.

And, God, it was like he got struck by _lightning_!

And it took him a while to realize it.

And when he did, his eyes widened.

Feliciano had been in a happy relationship before he found Antonio.

And now, when Lovino had found a happy relationship, Feliciano's relationship shattered.

Oh, no.

Oh, _God_ no!

Every time.

Every _single_ time.

Every _fucking _time it happened.

_Whenever _Feliciano was happy, Lovino was miserable.

And _now_ when Lovino was finally happy, Feliciano was miserable.

Damn it, it's like he can't _win_!

_Every _time Lovino found happiness, it was ripped away from him, unforgivingly.

Uncaringly.

Lovino guessed it _was _true all along.

He _wasn't _meant to be happy.

Not at the expense of Feliciano.

Why someone as happy as him should be forced to be sad all the time.

It just _didn't_ make _any_ since.

Maybe it was just his role to carry that burden.

Sure, it wasn't _ideal_, but it would at least keep Feliciano happy.

And if Feliciano could find happiness again, Lovino could at least take solace in _that_.

Maybe he was just some kind of lightning rod that absorbed all the negative energy to keep their little family afloat.

Maybe if _he_ feels bad, Feliciano doesn't have to.

Lovino couldn't bear to see Feliciano in such pain.

It was just _too_ much for him to take.

And so, Lovino knew what must be done.

He'd give up his happy relationship with Antonio.

If only so Feliciano could be happy once again.

And if it was one thing Lovino hated.

It was to see Feliciano suffer.

That was not Feliciano's job.

It was his.

And he alone should be the one to shoulder that burden.

Lovino just wanted to see Feliciano happy again.

He could at least be happy that Feliciano was happy.

That way, he could just return to his depressing life of quiet desperation.

So, he would be the one to suffer.

For Feliciano's sake.

Feliciano had a lot to offer the world.

But what did _he_ have?

_Nothing._

Yes, Feliciano had _a lot _to offer the world.

And he couldn't offer anything if he was under the veil of depression and loneliness.

That was Lovino's veil to wear.

Not his.

And so one day, when Feliciano was taking a nap, Lovino decided to call Antonio.

"Hello?" Antonio answered. "Lovi? Is that you? Where have you been? I've been trying to reach you for so long! You had your phone off! I figured something had happened to you!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine." Lovino said, trying to calm Antonio down. "Look, uh, I…I don't really have anything to do right now, so can we meet up today?"

"Yes, yes, of course, Lovi!" Antonio said, excitedly. "I've been waiting _so_ long to hear you say that! Where do you wanna go today? The movies? Dinner? The park? Or the beach?"

"No, no…nothing fancy…let's just meet up at our spot, ok?" Lovino asked.

"Um, well…ok! I don't mind where we are as long as I can see _you_, Lovi!" Antonio said, happily.

Lovino tried to laugh so that Antonio would think that he was excited too.

But he wasn't.

Oh, _God_, he wasn't excited.

"Yeah…so, does that sound good to you?" Lovino asked.

"Heck yeah, it does, Lovi! I can't wait!" Antonio said, excitedly.

"Yeah…ok…so, I'll meet you there?" Lovino said.

"Sure will!" Antonio said.

"Ok, then." Lovino said, mood dampening.

"Bye, Lovi!" Antonio said.

"Bye." Lovino said, before hanging up.

Lovino stared at his phone for a short while before looking at Feliciano's sleeping form.

'This is all for you.' Lovino thought.

It was all for Feliciano.

He'll give up his relationship with Antonio.

He'll do it willingly if it meant that Feliciano could finally be happy once again.

He'll shoulder the pain so that Feliciano doesn't have to.

He'll do it…for _him._

And so, walking towards the front door, Lovino set out to go to his and Antonio's meeting place.

But before he reached the hallway, Lovino heard a shift on the couch.

He turned around to see Feliciano sitting up and looking at him. "Lovino? Where are you going?" Feliciano asked, sleepily.

"I'm going out for a walk. I need some fresh air." Lovino said.

"Will you be back soon?" Feliciano asked. "I don't want to be myself for a long time."

"Yeah…I'll be back soon, ok?" Lovino asked. "Real soon."

Feliciano gave a small smile. "Ok, then. I'll see you soon." Feliciano said.

Lovino smiled back, albeit a bit sadly. "Ok, then. I'll see you later." Lovino said.

And with that, Lovino walked out into the hallway and out the front door.

He looked up at the sky.

It was beginning to turn orange.

He better hurry up.

He didn't want to walk home in the dark.

And so, Lovino began walking down the street, heading toward his secret spot.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even realize that he was at the edge of the forest until he hit his head on a low branch.

"Ouch!" Lovino cursed as he rubbed his head.

He pushed the branch aside before trudging through the dense forest.

A short while later, he saw the clearing in the distance.

He knew what must be done.

It was now or never.

No point in stalling.

Just get it over with.

Lovino got closer and closer.

The clearing was coming up soon.

And another short while later, Lovino had arrived.

He saw the sunset on the horizon and the orange sky up above with birds flying overhead.

Such a beautiful and breathtaking sight.

Too bad it had to be under these circumstances.

Lovino looked around but didn't see Antonio around yet, so he decided to sit down and enjoy the scenery while he could.

A short while later, Lovino heard rustling in the bushes and he immediately knew who it was.

Antonio.

Lovino sucked in his breath in anticipation, dreading what was to come.

He didn't _want_ to do it.

But he _had_ to.

"This is all for Feliciano's sake." Lovino reminded himself.

Lovino didn't have to wait very long before Antonio finally came into the clearing.

When Antonio saw Lovino sitting down, he sped up his pace, happy to see Lovino after such a long time.

"Hi, Lovi!" Antonio called out.

Lovino stood up, facing Antonio.

When Antonio walked up to Lovino, he wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug. "Oh, Lovi, I missed you _so_ much!" Antonio said, happily.

And for a second, Lovino just felt like clutching onto Antonio and bursting into tears.

This was going to be hard.

_Very_ hard indeed.

"Yeah, yeah…I can see that." Lovino said, pulling away from Antonio.

"So, Lovi what did you want to do?" Antonio asked.

"Well, uh…t-to be honest, I called you out here…s-so we could talk." Lovino said.

"You called me out here just to talk?" Antonio asked.

"Y-Yeah…sorry. I hope I'm not distracting you from anything." Lovino said.

"Oh, no, no. Don't worry about it, you're not. I'm ok with just talking. It's just good that I get to see you after such a long time." Antonio said.

"Oh…ok, then." Lovino said.

"So, what did you want to talk about, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

"I, uh…I…I-I…" Lovino faltered.

"Huh? Lovi? Are you ok?" Antonio asked.

"Y-Yeah. I-I'm fine." Lovino said.

Oh, _God_, this was going to be hard.

Lovino just stood there, throat clenched up.

"Lovi? Are you sure you're ok? Is there something going on?" Antonio asked.

"I…I…I ca-…I-I can't…" Lovino trailed off.

"What, Lovi? What are you saying? You can't what?" Antonio asked, putting his hands on Lovino's shoulders.

Lovino looked at Antonio, eyes filled with hurt.

"I can't see you anymore." Lovino whispered.

A sharp cold rush of wind came over them.

"Wh-What, Lovi? What did you say, I couldn't hear you." Antonio said.

"I can't see you anymore." Lovino said, voice breaking.

Antonio froze and his smile faded quickly. "Wh-What? Wh-What do you mean, you can't see me anymore?" Antonio asked.

"I-I just can't ok?" Lovino asked, looking away.

Antonio began chuckling. "O-Oh, I get it, Lovi! This is a joke isn't it? To get me back for not taking you out when I was busy? Oh, wow, Lovi! You almost got me there. For a second, I thought you were serious!" Antonio said, laughing.

Lovino looked at Antonio then. "I _am_ serious, Antonio. I can't see you anymore." Lovino said.

Antonio's smile faded once again. "What? Wh-Why not?" Antonio asked.

"I told you, I just can't, ok?" Lovino asked.

"B-But that's not a good reason, Lovi." Antonio said, starting to panic. "Wh-What did I do? D-Did I do something wrong?"

"No. You didn't." Lovino said, lowly.

"Th-Then why are you telling me this?" Antonio asked.

"Because I'm just…I-I'm just-" Lovino said, before he was cut off.

"You just what?" Antonio asked.

"Because I'm just going through some stuff right now. And I can't be in a relationship at this time." Lovino said.

"But, Lovi, I can _help_ you! I can get you _through_ this, just don't _leave_ me!" Antonio yelled.

"No. You wouldn't understand. I-I'm sorry, Antonio." Lovino said, softly.

"But I can _try_! Come on, Lovi, please, don't _do _this to me!" Antonio begged.

"No. You can't. I'm sorry, but I have to go." Lovino said, trying to walk off.

But Antonio's grip on his shoulders kept him in place.

Lovino looked into Antonio's sparkling green eyes and saw that they were filled with hurt and pain.

"Please, Lovi. Whatever I did, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Antonio said, tearing up.

"No. You didn't do anything wrong. So _please_ don't blame yourself! Blame _me_!" Lovino said.

Antonio's hands fell from Lovino's shoulders.

Tears began falling from those emerald green eyes.

Truly, a sad sight to see.

Tears should _not_ be falling from beautiful eyes like that.

"P-Please, Lovi! I-I'll be _lost _without you! I _need_ you! I _love_ you!" Antonio said, voice breaking.

Lovino stepped back a bit. "I-I'm sorry, I-I just…I can't see you anymore. Please forgive me!" Lovino said, tearing up as well.

Antonio was about to say something when all of a sudden, Lovino rushed forward and pressed his lips to Antonio's.

They stayed like that for a short while before Lovino pulled back.

Antonio just stared at Lovino, dumbstruck.

"I-I have to go." Lovino said. "Please forgive me!"

And with that, Lovino turned on his heel and ran towards the forest.

And as he did, Antonio saw the trail of tears rolling down Lovino's face.

Antonio would have run after him, but he was still too frozen from the kiss.

Lovino broke through the bushes, tears rolling down his face.

"Lovi? Lovi, please come back!" Antonio called after Lovino in the distance.

But Lovino didn't stop running.

He ignored Antonio and continued on.

"LOVI! LOVI!" Antonio called again.

Lovino heard the pain and hurt in Antonio's voice and for a split second, he wanted to stop and turn around and run into Antonio's arms.

But he knew he couldn't.

He had to sacrifice his only happiness so that Feliciano could be happy.

A terrible burden to bear, indeed.

But it was for the best.

It was for Feliciano.

As Lovino ran, he couldn't hear Antonio anymore.

He must have gotten far away enough so that Antonio's cries wouldn't reach him.

A short while later, Lovino broke through the bushes and into the city.

He kept running until he saw his house coming up in the distance.

As his house got nearer, Lovino slowed down his pace and began jogging.

When he got to the steps to his house, Lovino collapsed on the stairs and sobbed uncontrollably.

That was the hardest thing he ever had to do.

Seeing Antonio's tear filled eyes.

And the worst of it all, hearing Antonio's pained fill cries for him to come back.

It was all too much for Lovino to take in one sitting.

_Far_ too much.

Lovino sat on the steps in front of the house sobbing for what seemed like hours before he looked up at the sky and saw that it was beginning to darken.

Lovino was panting hard after running nonstop from his spot all the way to his house.

Tears were still streaming down his cheeks as he watched the darkening skyline.

"I'm sorry, Antonio. I-I'm so sorry." Lovino whispered.

Lovino sat there for a while longer before he decided to go into the house.

But first, he had to wipe the tears from his face or else Feliciano would see that he had been crying and would ask him a million questions asking why he was.

And so, making sure that his face was free from tears, Lovino walked into the house.

He walked into the living room to see Feliciano watching TV.

"Oh, Lovino. Are you back already? Did you enjoy your walk?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino tried to smile. "Y-Yeah…it was refreshing." Lovino said.

"Good. I'm glad you got to be out of the house for once after taking care of me like you have. I'm sorry if I made it difficult for you." Feliciano apologized.

"No, no, it's ok. I'm just glad you're feeling a little better." Lovino said.

Feliciano's eyebrows then rose in curiosity. "Huh? Lovino, what's wrong? You're eyes are red. Are you ok?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino's eyes widened.

_Crap_!

He _forgot_ that his eyes would still be red for a while.

So, quickly thinking up a lie, Lovino spoke up.

"O-Oh, this! It's nothing! I'm just tired is all!" Lovino said, trying to smile.

"Well, you look fine to me." Feliciano said.

"Well, don't worry about me, I'll be fine!" Lovino said.

"Lovino?" Feliciano asked.

"Yeah? What is it?" Lovino asked.

"Have you been crying?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino's eyes widened again.

Oh, no.

Had Feliciano seen him crying on the porch?

Or worse, had he _heard_ him crying?

Oh, God, no.

That would be too much to bear if he had.

"Wh-What? What are you talking about? I wasn't _crying_! You sound stupid right now! Me, crying. _Ha_!" Lovino said, trying to laugh it off.

"Oh…well, ok, then." Feliciano said. "A-Are you sure you haven't been crying. I-I mean if it was because of me, then I'm sorry. I know I haven't been easy to live with these past two weeks, so I would understand if you were frustrated with me."

Lovino scoffed. "Look, you idiot, I haven't been crying, ok? I'm just tired. You're just reading too deep into this." Lovino said.

"O-Oh, ok, then. S-Sorry." Feliciano said.

"Whatever. Well, I'm hungry. Do you want anything to eat?" Lovino asked, trying to change the subject.

"Oh, yeah! I want pasta! I don't know why, but I have a craving for it all of a sudden!" Feliciano said, getting off of the couch.

Lovino smiled. "Well, why don't we make some then?" Lovino asked.

"Ok!" Feliciano said.

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Alright, come on, dummy." Lovino said, walking into the kitchen.

Feliciano giggled and followed.

As they cooked in the kitchen, Lovino's mind was completely taken off of Antonio if only because Feliciano was here.

If he wasn't, then Lovino would probably been laying on the couch, crying and feeling sorry for himself.

But for right now, he was happy.

After they cooked and ate, they watched TV for a while, comfortably sitting on the couch.

Afterwards, they went upstairs and got ready for bed.

They crawled into bed and Feliciano sighed happily.

"That was really good, Lovino. It tasted amazing _this_ time! I must have _really_ been hungry!" Feliciano said.

"I'll say. You had like four plates." Lovino said.

"So? I was hungry! It's not like _you_ had just one, you know!" Feliciano said.

"Well, doing all that walking gave me a big appetite. At least _I_ have an excuse." Lovino teased.

"Well, uh…I, uh…I…" Feliciano trailed off, thinking of a comeback.

Lovino poked Feliciano's forehead. "Just shut up and go to sleep, alright?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano pouted, slightly. "Hmph, well, you're lucky I'm so tired and can't think of anything right now!" Feliciano said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Go to sleep." Lovino said.

Feliciano yawned, tiredly. "Ok. Goodnight, Lovino." Feliciano said.

"Yeah. Goodnight, Feliciano. I'll see you in the morning." Lovino said.

"Ok." Feliciano said, before turning over.

Within minutes, Feliciano was fast asleep.

Lovino was wide awake, as usual.

He couldn't help but think back on the day's events.

He hated to do that to Antonio, to hurt him like that but…

He _had_ to.

He _had_ to sacrifice his happiness so that Feliciano could be happy.

He could do it.

If only for him.

Lovino continued staring up at the ceiling, deep in thought.

And after a short while of staring later, Lovino began to fall asleep.

He turned over, feeling his eye lids getting heavier and heavier.

"I'm sorry, Antonio…I'm so sorry." Lovino whispered as he drifted off into sleepy unconsciousness.

Tomorrow would be one hell of a day.

But for right now, Lovino needed rest.

He would need the energy to get through the day.

Right now, he could just dream the night away.

The next morning came and Lovino woke up yet again, to the smell of cooking.

And, as always, Feliciano was doing the cooking.

Lovino's stomach growled and he climbed out of bed to get ready for the day.

When he got his clothes on, Lovino walked downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Lovino! Breakfast is almost ready. Can you set the table for me?" Feliciano asked.

"Alright." Lovino said, groggily.

When the table was set, Lovino waited until Feliciano was done cooking.

They ate together in silence talking to each other every so often.

Once they were done, they cleared the table and walked into the living room and turned on the TV.

As they were watching a random TV show, Lovino got a call on his cell phone.

And sucking in his breath, he looked at the caller ID.

And, as expected, it was Antonio.

Excusing himself, Lovino walked into the hallway.

He stared at the phone, wondering if he should answer it or not.

But, ignoring his gut feeling, Lovino answered the phone anyway.

"H-Hello?" Lovino asked.

"Hello? Lovi? I-I just wanted to call you…I'm glad you picked up. Look, we may have ended on a bad note yesterday, but I wanted to make up for it. So, please? Can I see you today?" Antonio asked.

Lovino paused for a long time.

"Lovi? A-Are you there?" Antonio asked.

"Yes, I'm here." Lovino said.

"So, what do you say? Can we go out today?" Antonio asked.

"No, Antonio. I already told you that we can't see each other anymore." Lovino said.

"But why, Lovi? You didn't even give me a good reason _why_ we can't!" Antonio said.

"I'm sorry. But I just can't. That's all I can say." Lovino said.

"Come on, Lovi, _please_! You're not being held hostage, are you? Is someone holding you hostage? Because if they are, I'll call the police. They'll rescue you and we can be together again, ok?" Antonio asked.

Lovino smiled softly.

Stupid Antonio.

Always overthinking things.

"No, stupid, I'm not being held hostage. I'm just going through a tough time right now." Lovino said.

"But, Lovi, I told you that I can _help_ you! _Please_ let me help! I'll do whatever you need me to, just don't push me away!" Antonio begged.

"I'm sorry, Antonio, but this is something I have to do alone." Lovino said. "Don't call me again."

"But, Lovi, I-" Antonio said, before he was cut off.

"Goodbye." Lovino said, before he hung up.

Lovino sighed and walked back into the living room.

"Was that your friend again?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino paused for a moment before speaking up. "No. Wrong number." Lovino said, simply.

"Oh. Ok, then. So, what do you want to watch?" Feliciano asked.

"Anything. I'm ok with whatever you want to watch." Lovino said.

Feliciano giggled. "Ok, then." Feliciano said, flipping through the TV stations.

As they watched TV, Lovino's phone kept ringing and ringing and ringing.

He knew it was Antonio trying to call him over and over and over.

And he tried his best to just ignore it.

"Lovino? Your phone is vibrating. Do you need to get that?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino put his hand over his pocket and just shook his head. "No, that's ok. It's probably just a wrong number." Lovino said.

"But they keep calling you." Feliciano said.

"Well, maybe, they keep thinking I'm someone I'm not." Lovino said.

"Oh. Ok, then. If you say so." Feliciano said.

They continued watching TV and after a while, the phone calls finally stopped.

And Lovino, seeing that they had, heaved a sigh of relief.

This was going to be a long day.

And this continued on for the rest of the week, Antonio calling and calling and Lovino ignoring every single one.

He even tried turning his phone off, hoping that Antonio would get the message to just leave him alone, but sure enough, when he turned his phone back on, the calls kept coming and coming.

One night, while they were settling into bed, Lovino heard something.

_Tink_!

_Tink_!

Feliciano had already gone to sleep, so it wasn't him making any noise.

_Tink_!

_Tink_!

What the hell?

The noise was coming from the window.

Lovino got out of bed and walked over to the window and looked outside.

And what he saw shocked him.

It was Antonio.

Throwing pebbles at his window, trying to get his attention.

Lovino opened the window. "Antonio! What the_ hell_ are you doing here? Do you know how _late _it is?" Lovino yelled, in a loud whisper, not wanting to wake Feliciano.

"Lovi! I didn't hear from you in a long time and I wanted to see you!" Antonio whispered up to Lovino.

Lovino growled. "_Dammit_! Leave! Get _out _of here! You _can't _keep _doing_ this shit, Antonio! What's done is _done_! We're not together anymore, so get _over_ it!" Lovino whispered.

"But, Lovi, I _can't_! I _miss_ you! I want to see you again! Please, come back to me, _please_!" Antonio begged.

"_No_! I keep telling you _no_! No means _no_! No matter _how_ many times you ask me or beg me, the answer will _always_ be the same: _No_! Now, _leave_!" Lovino said.

"B-But, Lovi, I-" Antonio said, before he was cut off.

"_Now_!" Lovino said. "_Go_! Go on! _Leave_! Get the _fuck_ out of here!" Lovino said, shooing Antonio away with a hand.

And even from the second story window, Lovino could see Antonio flinch at his words and the pain and hurt in his eyes.

Lovino looked away.

He hated doing this to Antonio.

He hated that he had to hurt him so badly.

But it _had_ to be done.

It had to be.

"Please, Antonio. Just go. _Please,_ just go. If you love me. _Truly _love me like you say you do. You would do what I asked and just leave me alone." Lovino said.

"O-Ok, Lovi. I-I'll go. I love you, so I'll do what you asked and go." Antonio said, sadly.

Lovino watched as Antonio walked to his car.

But before he got in, he looked up and said, with determination in his eyes. "But I'm _not_ giving up on you, _ever._" Antonio said.

And with that, Antonio got into his car.

Lovino closed the window, and crawled back into bed, waiting for Antonio to start up his car and finally drive off.

And when he did, Lovino let out an exhale of relief and looked over at the sleeping Feliciano.

Thank God, that fiasco didn't wake Feliciano up.

Or rather, thank God that Feliciano can be a heavy sleeper sometimes.

Lovino finally fell asleep after a while staring out the window.

He couldn't _believe_ that Antonio had the audacity to come to his house at _night_!

But then again, he really _hadn't_ given Antonio much to not worry about.

But _still_!

What if he had woke Feliciano up?

That would _really_ piss Lovino off.

For the next few days, Lovino got call after call after call.

And each one of them from Antonio.

He just would _not_ leave Lovino _alone_!

He just kept calling and calling and calling.

And Lovino wouldn't even bother anymore.

Every time his phone rang, he just let it.

It was always Antonio anyway.

So why check it every time in rang?

Call after call after call.

And finally, Lovino had enough.

So, when Antonio called again, Lovino answered it, angrily. "_Look_! Stop fucking _calling_ me all the goddamn time! Can't you take a goddamn fucking _hint_! I _told_ you to stop calling me the _first_ time you called. I don't want to _talk_ to you anymore!" Lovino yelled, through the phone.

"But, Lovi, _please_! Why can't you just give me another chance? I'm _sorry_, ok? I'm _sorry_! Whatever I did to make you not want to see me anymore, I'm _sorry_! I-I'm _sorry_!" Antonio said, over the phone.

And as Lovino listened, he heard Antonio sobbing.

_Goddammit_, why did this have to be so _hard_?

Lovino sighed. "Look, Antonio, I'm sorry. We just can't see each other anymore. Plain and simple. That's it, that's all. Got it? So, please…don't worry yourself. It's not good for you. And again…please, _please_ don't call me ever again, ok? I'm sorry, but this is the way it has to be…goodbye." Lovino said.

And the last thing Lovino heard before he hung up was Antonio's hurtful sobs.

And as Lovino went through the week, he could only wonder one thing.

Why wasn't Feliciano back in his relationship?

Lovino had ended _his_ long ago, so why was Feliciano still broken up?

Lovino was officially miserable now, so what was going on?

If Lovino was miserable, then why wasn't Feliciano happy?

He was _supposed _to be happy, goddamn it.

So why wasn't he?

If Lovino felt bad then Feliciano shouldn't _have _to

Maybe it would take a while for them to get back together.

Yeah, that's it.

It would just take a while.

All he had to do was wait.

Just wait, and Feliciano would be back in his relationship and happy-go-lucky once again.

Right?

Right.

But it still didn't happen.

After a week and a half, Feliciano was still broken up.

What the fuck was going on?

Lovino thought he had it all figured out.

Then, all of a sudden in the middle of the week, Lovino's phone vibrated as he was sitting on the couch with Feliciano.

But it wasn't a call.

It was a text.

From Antonio.

Lovino rolled his eyes and looked at it.

It read:  
_Lovi? I know you won't answer any of my calls, but I just wanted to let you know that I would do anything for you. Anything to help you through your time of need. So, please…let me back into your life. I hope you won't decide to not read this after seeing that it's me, but if you are, I just want to say that I still hope to be with you if all this ever ends. And if so, you know how to reach me. I'll be waiting for you._

When Lovino got done reading Antonio's message, he sighed.

"What's wrong, Lovino?" Feliciano asked.

"Nothing, Feliciano. I'm just tired, is all." Lovino said.

"Ok, then. Well, why don't you go and take a nap?" Feliciano asked.

"Don't feel like it." Lovino replied.

"Ok." Feliciano said, simply and left it at that.

The rest of the week continued on in a drag.

God, the misery and dread in the house was so thick, one could cut it with a knife.

Lovino hadn't heard anything from Antonio after his text.

He figured that Antonio had _finally _the message to just leave him alone.

That is, until he got yet _another_ phone call from Antonio.

Lovino looked at it and exhaled exasperatedly and answered it.

"Hello?" Lovino asked, trying to keep his voice even.

"Lovi?" Antonio asked.

"What do you want, Antonio?" Lovino asked. "I told you not to call me anymore."

"I know, I know. I don't want anything…I just want to talk." Antonio said, voice surprisingly calm.

Lovino sighed. "About what? I told you that I didn't want to talk to you anymore. We can't see each other anymore. Why are you trying to talk to me?" Lovino asked.

"I know, I know what you said, Lovi. Just please? Can we just talk, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

Lovino scoffed. "I said _no_, Antonio! What part don't you understand? I can't believe that after _all_ I said, you _still_ want to talk to me! What kind of per-" Lovino said, before he was cut off.

"_Please_, Lovi! I just want to talk. If you would just talk to me this _one_ time, I'll leave you alone and I'll _never_ talk to you again." Antonio said.

"Ok then, what do we have to talk about?" Lovino asked.

"No, not over the phone." Antonio said. "I want us to meet up."

"Where?" Lovino asked.

"At our spot. Be there in a hour and we can talk then." Antonio said.

"Ok, but what are we going to talk abo-" Lovino tried to say but was cut off by a dial tone.

Lovino looked at the phone in shock.

What the _hell_?

"He hung up on me." Lovino said.

Going back into the living room, Lovino sat on the couch, still in shock.

Antonio had hung up on Lovino.

He had _never_ done that before.

And what was with the weird was he was talking on the phone?

It sounded almost…

Eerie.

Huh.

Weird.

And so, Lovino passed the time watching TV until it was time for him to go.

"Hey, Feliciano." Lovino called.

"Yes?" Feliciano called back.

"I'm going for a walk, I'll be back soon." Lovino said.

"Ok. Be careful and come back soon." Feliciano said.

"Alright." Lovino said.

And with that, Lovino walked to the front door and opened it to go outside.

As he walked down the street, he wondered what Antonio wanted to talk about.

He guessed that it was to probably try to get back together with him.

Ha.

Yeah, right.

Like _that'll_ ever happen.

Not with so much at stake here.

Lovino came to the edge of the forest and walked through the bushes.

A short while, he saw the clearing up ahead.

He'd be there shortly.

And so picking up his pace, Lovino began to walk faster.

The faster he got there the faster he could leave.

And so, it was with great speed that Lovino broke through the bushes into the clearing.

When he got there, to his surprise, Antonio was already there.

Well,_ that_ was a first.

Antonio had beaten him to their spot.

Antonio was facing the horizon, his back facing Lovino.

Speaking up, Lovino spoke up. "Antonio. I'm here." Lovino called out.

Antonio turned around now. "Oh, hi, Lovi. I'm glad you could make it." Antonio said, still in that eerily calm voice he had used on the phone.

"Yeah, well, I'm here. Now what did you want to talk about?" Lovino asked.

"Oh, nothing really. I just wanted to see you one last time." Antonio said, smiling.

Lovino cocked and eyebrow in confusion. "One last time? What do you mean? Where are you going?" Lovino asked, curiously.

"Oh, nowhere in particular." Antonio said.

"O….k, then." Lovino said, awkwardly.

Antonio giggled. "Oh, Lovi. I sure am gonna to miss that face of yours." Antonio said.

"Uhh…Antonio? Just what the hell are you talking about?" Lovino asked, eyes narrowing.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I'm just talking to myself is all." Antonio said.

Antonio then began stepping backwards.

"You better watch out or you'll fall and kill yourself." Lovino warned.

Antonio smiled and giggled again. "Oh, Lovi, don't worry. I know what I'm doing." Antonio said.

Antonio took another step back and Lovino's eyes widened.

"Antonio? Are you ok?" Lovino asked.

"I'm perfectly fine, Lovi. Why do you ask?" Antonio asked.

"Because you're kinda…close to the edge of the cliff there." Lovino said.

"Very observant, Lovi." Antonio said.

Just _what _the_ hell_ is this bastard _thinking_?

Has he gone _crazy_?

"Don't do anything stupid, you bastard." Lovino said.

Antonio smiled. "You're always so caring, aren't you, Lovi? That's one of the things I love about you. Always looking out for others." Antonio said.

Antonio continued walking backwards.

Ok, this is officially weird.

"I'm really gonna miss you, Lovi. Will you miss me? I sure hope so. But don't worry you'll see me again, really soon, ok?" Antonio said.

Lovino's eyes narrowed. "Antonio? What are you doing?" Lovino asked.

"Hmm? What do you mean, Lovi? I don't know what you're talking about." Antonio said.

"Oh, you know _damn_ well what I'm talking about!" Lovino yelled.

Antonio continued walking back, slowly.

"Oh, no, I actually don't." Antonio said. "Would you please tell me?"

Lovino scoffed. "If you think scaring me with this little gimmick is gonna make get back with you, you got another thing coming." Lovino said.

"Oh, this is no trick, Lovi. I meant what I said. I'll miss you a whole lot. And I hope you'll miss me too. But you'll see me again, so don't be sad, ok?" Antonio said, with childlike creepiness that sent chills up Lovino's spine.

"Antonio? What the _fuck_ are you _talking_ about?" Lovino yelled.

Antonio finally reached the edge of the cliff and smiled. "Goodbye, I'll see you soon." Antonio said, smiling.

Lovino's eyes widened again. "Antonio, stop being stupid and get back over here before you fall!" Lovino yelled.

But Antonio wouldn't move.

He just stood there, smiling creepily at Lovino.

"I love you, Lovi." Antonio said.

And with that, Antonio smiled and leaned back, stepping off and falling off of the edge of the cliff.

* * *

Ooh, another cliffhanger! Sorry, guys, but I just _had_ to! This was so much fun for me to write! I think this chapter may be one of the best I've written. I put so much feeling into this one and I actually think it's kinda deep. But yeah, stay tuned to find out what happens next!

P.S. I hope I didn't make Antonio to stalkerish what with all the phone calls and all and the coming to Lovino's house in the middle of the night.. But think it was ok. I don't think it boarded on the crazy side. Although I'm not too sure about the ending though. It's like Antonio just lost it after losing Lovino. But anyways, like I always say, read and review, and look forward to the next chapter! =).


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Hello again, everyone! Looks like the next and final chapter is here! And thank you all so much for the reviews for the last chapter! It was the most I've ever gotten for a single chapter! And sorry about the super long gap in updates, I had to help my sister move out and I was just _so _busy that I couldn't find the time to sit down and write. But hopefully, I'm done helping out. Thank you all for sticking with my story until the end. And the sooner I get done with this story, the sooner I can get started on my other ones, which I'm hoping you all are looking forward to. But, until then, enjoy this story. And after rereading the last chapter, yeeeeeeah, I _did_ kinda make it a little angsty. Sorry about that, but it was just how I saw it in my mind. And after getting declarations of hatred from people, (which made me laugh by the way) watch, as I make you all love me again! Here's hoping. And hopefully, all questions will be answered this chapter's end

**Ljusalfheim : **Lol, don't worry, I'll make you love me by the end of this chapter. And I'll have you crying of happiness by the end of it. And just keep hoping, you may be pleasantly surprised.

**EmeraldKonoha197 :** OMG THANK YOU! Your review made me smile so hard! I didn't know that I would win an award on my first story! I now feel rejuvenated and am ready to continue writing stories! Thank you so much! I'm glad I impressed you with my writing.

**Opal Redverne : **Thank you. I appreciate the constructive criticism and after going back and reading it, I did notice that I put "ok" a lot and I kinda cringed because it felt really awkward. I'll take that into account so that I can avoid that in future stories, so thank you for helping me improve. And hopefully, I can get more advice from you in the future, that is if you want to, so that I can avoid people feeling awkward as they read.

**toshiko-san21: **Lol, all I can say without spoiling anything is all of your questions will be answered in this chapter.

**Guest that I'm assuming is Lovi's Tomato Lover : **You're right, the story's not based on tragedy. Just really deep drama and romance. But don't worry, everything will all be explained.

**Don'tDreamItBeIt : **Yep, the creepiness was what I was going for. And yeah, Antonio was kinda obsessed but that was because he was trying to figure out what was going on.

**ShadowKissedYaoi : **You'll stop asking questions soon enough. I can tell it's driving you crazy.

**KirishimaYui :** I love your comment. And no, it's not a bad thing to read too much into things. Sometimes it can give you a better perspective of what's going on in a story.

SUPER, MEGA, ULTRA, LONG chapter, folks. This was over 20,000 words! And with that, enjoy that last and final chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 12**

Lovino's eyes widened in shock. "Toni? _Toni_!? TONI!" Lovino screamed, loudly in panic.

Lovino stood there, frozen with shock, for a split second.

And then looking around and back towards to the edge of the cliff, Lovino was stricken with a sickening burst of adrenaline.

He quickly took a few steps back and ran towards the edge and, throwing caution to the wind, Lovino jumped off of the edge of the cliff.

He then began to feel the wind rushing up past him as he looked down.

He saw Antonio still in the air, falling. "Goddammit!" Lovino said, to himself.

Antonio heard something and opened his eyes.

He saw Lovino falling towards him arm outstretched.

Antonio sighed, wistfully. "Even before death, he's still beautiful." Antonio said, smiling.

Antonio closed his eyes again, feeling the wind rushing up past him.

Lovino looked down at Antonio and saw that they were getting closer and closer to the water.

A few seconds later, Lovino saw Antonio hit the water. "Oh, Goddammit!" Lovino yelled.

Lovino closed his eyes as he got closer to the water.

And then another few seconds later, Lovino hit the water as well.

Lovino opened his eyes and swam up to the surface.

He just floated there, stunned from hitting the water at such a high speed.

Lovino hissed from the stinging sensation.

_Damn_, that hurt!

Finally, coming back from his pained stupor, Lovino looked around, desperately. "Toni? Toni, where are you?!" Lovino asked.

He scanned the waves for a short while before his eyes finally came to rest on something bright.

He looked closer and saw that it was a bright red.

It was Antonio's shirt.

And as Lovino looked closer, he saw that Antonio was just floating there.

He looked unconscious.

"Oh, God, _no_!" Lovino said.

And then, without thinking, Lovino began swimming towards Antonio.

And as he swam, Lovino realized one thing. 'Hey, I'm doing it! I'm doing it! I'm swimming!' Lovino thought to himself.

And he was.

He was swimming.

And he also realized another thing.

Well, that was one thing he could do that Feliciano couldn't.

Swim.

He had seen Feliciano in a pool before, clinging for dear life to the edge.

He had made fun of him for it, but in reality, _he_ couldn't swim either.

He just preferred to sit on the side.

Until now.

Even though it was learned unconsciously under a life or death situation, it was still swimming nonetheless.

And he was damn grateful for it.

As he made his way closer to Antonio, he saw that he was bobbing up and down in the waves.

"Oh, God, please don't sink, please don't sink." Lovino pleaded.

But when he got there a big swell came and Antonio disappeared under the waves.

"No!" Lovino yelled.

He then took a deep breath and dove underwater.

He saw Antonio sinking deeper and deeper and Lovino swam as hard as he could to get to Antonio.

He reached out a hand and tried to grab Antonio.

But he missed.

He tried again and he missed again.

And then, finally, gritting his teeth, he reached out again and grabbed Antonio by the collar.

And then, with another burst of adrenaline, Lovino began swimming up towards the surface.

When he finally broke the surface, he took a great gasp of much needed air.

He readjusted Antonio's unconscious body to get a better hold on him.

Lovino then looked around to see if there was any land nearby.

His eyes then came to rest on a beach.

Lovino then smiled, breathlessly. "Oh, thank God." Lovino said, relieved.

And so, shifting Antonio again, Lovino began swimming, desperately towards the beach, stopping only to readjust Antonio.

Goddamn, trying to swim holding an unconscious person was hard.

_Really_ hard.

But he had to keep going no matter how much he wanted to just stop and give up.

Or else Antonio would die.

And he would _not_ have that weighing on his conscience.

A short while later, Lovino finally reached land, entirely sapped of energy.

He crawled up onto the gravelly beach, breathing heavily.

He didn't have the energy to stand up, so he just had to settle for dragging Antonio's body on the beach.

Once they were safely away from the water's edge, Lovino collapsed.

He then turned to Antonio and started shaking him. "Toni? Toni, wake up! Wake up, dammit!" Lovino yelled, shaking Antonio harder.

He then remembered that Antonio had just come out of the water.

He had probably swallowed a large amount upon impact.

And the fact that he was sinking didn't help either.

Antonio was waterlogged.

And Lovino had to get it out of him immediately.

And so, Lovino got on top of Antonio, straddling his waist.

He then began pressing on Antonio's chest.

With each push, water spilled out of Antonio's mouth.

As he expelled the seawater out of Antonio's body, Lovino then began getting flooded by memories.

Specifically, him taking CPR classes.

He'd _had_ to take them after Feliciano had almost drowned at that pool party years ago.

Lovino remembered it clear as day.

He had gone inside for a drink and when he came out there was a crowd gathered and someone was screaming.

He rushed over to see what was going on and when he pushed his way through, he dropped his drink.

Feliciano was laying, unconscious, on his back; someone had just pulled him out of the pool not too long ago.

Lovino sank to his knees and crawled over to Feliciano in a dizzying panic.

He remembered shaking him and calling his name. 'Feliciano? Feliciano?! Wake up! Please, wake up!'

Lovino then looked up at the crowd, desperate.

But they all looked horrified as well.

Nobody knew what to do.

And then it happened.

'What's going on here?!' came a deep voice.

Lovino watched through bleary eyes as a tall person broke through the crowd.

'Oh, Gott!' the man said.

He then knelt down and as Lovino looked at him, he saw that it was Ludwig.

'What's wrong with him?!' Lovino asked.

Ludwig looked at him, eyes serious. 'He's unconscious. From the looks of it he almost drowned. Get back, I'm going to try to revive him.' Ludwig said.

The next thing Lovino felt were arms pulling him back.

He saw Ludwig push on Feliciano's stomach and perform mouth-to-mouth.

A few minutes of repeating the same actions, Feliciano came to, coughing and wheezing.

Ludwig smiled and brought Feliciano to his chest. 'Thank, Gott, you're alright.' Ludwig said.

Feliciano looked at Lovino who was sobbing. 'L-Lovino…' Feliciano said, weakly.

Lovino's head snapped up and he immediately lurched forward towards Feliciano. 'Feliciano, are you alright?!' Lovino asked.

Feliciano coughed. 'Yeah, I-I'm alright. What happened?' Feliciano asked.

'You almost drowned.' Ludwig said. 'But you're alright now.'

Lovino watched as Ludwig picked Feliciano up and carried him off.

Some of the crowd dispersed but most of them stayed with Lovino, trying to calm him down.

Lovino held his head in his hands.

He had never felt so helpless.

There Feliciano was, dying in front of him, and he couldn't do anything.

And that was the worst feeling of all.

He almost lost the only family he had and he couldn't do anything to prevent that.

And it was then that he decided to take the class.

But he had barely paid attention, mind still focused on Feliciano.

And how he almost died.

Lovino then came back to reality.

And as he pressed on Antonio's chest, he found himself imitating the motions Ludwig performed on Feliciano years ago.

He remembered by memory how Ludwig did it and maybe that was the reason he had passed the class in the first place.

Because of Ludwig.

Huh.

Guess the bastard had some use, after all.

When there was no more water coming out, Lovino scrambled off of Antonio and began giving him CPR.

He pulled Antonio's head back, like Ludwig had done to Feliciano, and put his mouth to Antonio's and breathed.

He breathed again.

And again.

And again.

And as he did so, Lovino saw Antonio's chest rising and falling with his breaths.

Well, that was _another _thing Lovino could do that Feliciano couldn't.

At least _that _was something.

Making sure that Antonio would come out alive, Lovino repeated pressing on Antonio's chest and giving him CPR, like Ludwig had done.

Lovino then stopped giving CPR.

Antonio wasn't responding.

Lovino sat back on his knees. "Oh, no. Oh, God, _no_!" Lovino said.

His sight then began blurring as his eyes watered up.

He turned away from Antonio then. "Oh, God, I lost him!" Lovino said, voice breaking.

He leaned over and gripped the gravel in his hands and sobbed.

"Oh, God, why was I so _stupid_?! Why couldn't I just _tell_ him?! If I did, then _none_ of this would have ever _happened_!" Lovino sobbed, frustrated.

As Lovino continued sobbing, he heard a sudden cough and a groan.

He turned around and saw that Antonio was coughing and getting on his knees.

He watched in amazement and Antonio coughed and wheezed.

Antonio's body was convulsing as he went into a coughing fit.

He then threw up even more seawater.

He then spit out the last of the water and finally fell back, sitting on his knees, panting.

Lovino's eyes widened then.

He saved him.

Oh, God, he _saved_ him!

Antonio coughed again and groaned. "Where am I? Am I dead?" Antonio asked.

Lovino smiled, gratefully. "Oh, God, Toni, you're alright!" Lovino said, rushing forward and wrapping his arms around Antonio.

"Huh? Lovi? What are you doing here? Are you dead too?" Antonio asked.

Lovino looked up at Antonio. "What? _No_, you're not dead, _stupid_!" Lovino yelled. "You're _alive_, you idiot! You're _alive_!"

Lovino buried his face in Antonio's shirt again.

Antonio rubbed Lovino's head. "Wait, so, if I'm alive, then does that mean…that you _saved_ me, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

Lovino sniffled and nodded into Antonio's chest.

Antonio gave a breathless laugh. "Wow, so I guess you saved my life twice!" Antonio said.

Lovino then pulled away from Antonio then.

He was still laughing.

And then Lovino brought his hand up and brought it down, slapping Antonio across the face.

Antonio held his cheek and looked at Lovino, shocked. "Wh-What did you do that for, Lovi? That hurt." Antonio said.

"Why the fuck did you do that, you asshole?!" Lovino yelled.

"D-Do what, Lovi?" Antonio asked, confused.

"Why the fuck did you jump off that cliff, you stupid idiot?! You're like that stupid bitch from that one movie!" Lovino said.

"What movie?" Antonio asked.

Lovino scoffed. "Nevermind. Forget it." Lovino said.

Lovino fell silent then.

"Lovi? Are you ok?" Antonio asked.

"Why? Why did you do it? Tell me!" Lovino said, lowly.

"Why did I do what?" Antonio asked.

Lovino looked up, anger in his eyes. "Are you really _that_ stupid?! Why did you try to kill yourself?!" Lovino asked.

And now, it was Antonio's turn to fall silent.

"Well?! Tell me!" Lovino yelled.

Antonio paused a moment before finally speaking. "I don't know." was all Antonio said.

"You don't know? You don't _know_?! How the _fuck_ could you not _know_?!" Lovino asked. "Do you know how worried I was?! I thought you were _dead_! I thought that I was gonna have that on my conscience. That I was gonna have to _live_ with that!"

"I-I'm sorry, Lovi, I-" was all Antonio could say before he was cut off.

"No, you're _not_ sorry! You were gonna kill yourself, and for what? Because I didn't want to go out with you anymore?! That's a _stupid_ reason! Just because I didn't want to date you anymore, that doesn't mean that I want you to go and _kill_ yourself!" Lovino yelled, before bursting into angry tears.

Antonio leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Lovino and pulled him close. "It's ok, Lovi. It's ok." Antonio soothed.

Lovino sobbed into Antonio's shirt. "St-Stupid! You're so _stupid_!" Lovino sobbed.

Antonio stroked Lovino's head, soothingly.

They stayed like that until Lovino's sobs died down.

Lovino's hands clutched Antonio's shirt as tears still streamed down his cheeks.

And for the time that Antonio held him, there was just one thing weighing heavily on his mind.

"If you don't mind me asking, Lovi, why _did_ you break up with me?" Antonio asked.

Lovino sniffled. "You wouldn't understand." Lovino said.

"But I can try." Antonio said.

"No. You can't understand. You wouldn't get it." Lovino said.

"I told you, I can _try_! _Please_, Lovi, just _tell _me!" Antonio begged. "I can help you through this."

"I _told _you _no_! How many times do I have to _tell_ you-" Lovino said, before he was cut off.

"That's _enough_, Lovi!" Antonio yelled, pushing Lovino away from him and looking directly at him. "You don't know that I can't understand because you haven't _told_ me anything! How can you expect someone to help you when you won't even _tell_ anyone?!"

Lovino looked back at Antonio, meeting his stern gaze. "But, Toni, I…" Lovino trailed off.

"_Please_, Lovi. Let me _help_ you. I want to _be_ there for you. But I can't if you keep pushing me _away_!" Antonio yelled.

Lovino stayed silent.

Antonio tightened his grip on Lovino's shoulders. "Please, Lovi. Tell me. Whatever's going on, I can tell you're hurt by it. I noticed it when you were struggling to tell me that you wanted to break up. I can tell that you didn't want to, but you did anyway. _Why_, Lovi? Please, tell me _why_. I promise that I'll try to understand." Antonio said, softly.

Lovino bit his lip, deciding whether or not to tell Antonio.

But then he looked up into Antonio concerned eyes and finally decided to tell him.

"F-Fine…I-I'll tell you." Lovino stuttered.

Antonio sighed in relief and smiled. "Thanks, Lovi. I'm listening." Antonio said.

"W-Well…the reason I broke up with you was because…was because of my brother." Lovino said.

"What do you mean because of you brother? Did he make you break up with me or something?" Antonio asked.

"No. It was because someone broke up with _him_." Lovino said.

"Wait. You mean you brother's boyfriend broke up with him?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah." Lovino said.

"But then why did that mean that you had to break up with me?" Antonio asked.

"Well. Because…see it's like this…for as long as I can remember, whenever my brother is happy, I'm miserable and whenever I'm happy my brother is miserable…s-so I figured that since we got together and I was happy, that made my brother sad. And I figured that if I were to make myself sad, then that would cause my brother to be happy and maybe get back in his relationship." Lovino said.

"But where would you get that logic from, Lovi? It doesn't make any sense." Antonio said.

"I told you that it's been like that for as long as I can remember. Ever since we were little." Lovino said.

"What do you mean since you were little?" Antonio asked.

"Well…I guess you can say that my brother was always the favorite when we were growing up. He pretty much got everything while I got nothing. Well, not literally nothing, but it was nothing compared to what he got." Lovino said.

"Wow, Lovi. Your parents were rough on you." Antonio said.

"No, not our parents. We didn't know them since we were so young. We lived with our grandpa for just about our whole lives. So, it was our grandpa that was rough on me. He favored my brother more than he ever did me. Maybe it was because they both were so similar. But my brother got everything. New toys, new clothes and even paint brushes and easels so he could paint with him. He got all of that by just asking for it." Lovino said.

"Wait, so didn't get _anything_? Well, if you wanted something then why didn't you ask for it like you brother did?" Antonio asked.

"I _did_. But every time I did, Grandpa would always say 'not now, I'm tired', or 'maybe next time'. But whenever my brother did, he'd drop what he was doing and give my brother what he wanted." Lovino said. "It wasn't fair. It just wasn't _fair_."

"Come on, Lovi, I'm sure it wasn't _that_ bad." Antonio reasoned.

Lovino scoffed, bitterly. "Yeah, well that's not even the _half_ of it." Lovino said. "I remember when I tried to paint with them and Grandpa didn't even give mine a second glance. I mean, sure I couldn't paint and it was just random colors splattered on the canvas, but so was Feliciano's! His looked about the same as _mine_! He didn't know what he was painting! _Neither _of us did! But Grandpa, he didn't care. He didn't care one _bit_! Oh, you should have seen him. You should have _seen_ him! When Feliciano held up his picture for Grandpa to see, he looked at it like Feliciano had just drawn the fucking Mona Lisa! Like it was some kind of artist's miracle. He said that it was soooo deep and how the colors represented different emotions or some shit. And then when I showed him mine, all he gave me was a simple, 'hmm.' and then he went back to Feliciano's. And, God, the way he _fawned_ over that thing was just _sickening_! He looked at it like it was some sort of _masterpiece_! And do you know what else he told me? He told me, 'You should be more like Feliciano, Lovino. Paint with feeling like he does and not like _that_.' Do you know how much that _hurt_ me? Do you know what it feels like to _always_ be second best to someone who was _supposed_ to love you both the _same_?" Lovino said, putting his hand on his chest, hurt.

"Wow, Lovi. I'm so sorry." Antonio said. "It must have been rough."

"And that's not even the _worst_ part." Lovino said, continuing. "No, the worst part of it was when Grandpa brought _all_ of his friends over just so that they can see that stupid painting! When they all showed up, he picked Feliciano up and held the painting, calling him 'his little da Vinci.' And when somebody asked what the other painting was, I felt so _proud_. So proud that through the darkness, _somebody_ noticed my painting! I felt so good inside and when I ran to get it and show it off, that's when he said it. When I was about to pick it up, Grandpa said…h-he said, 'Oh, that? Ah, don't worry about that. It's just Lovino's, it's no big deal.' What the _fuck_?! N-No big deal?! H-How could he say that?! And about a little kid's simple drawing that he was so proud of! That's so fucking _cruel_! And the happiness I felt, that little _piece _of happiness that I felt at being noticed was ripped away from me! I can't even _begin_ to describe the pain I felt! It was just so _awful_! I tried to paint my best and Grandpa didn't give a _damn_ about my art! He didn't care. He didn't care one bit…" Lovino trailed off.

Antonio put a hand over his mouth. "Wow, I-I don't know what to say, Lovi…" Antonio said.

"I just felt _so_ unloved_ so_ hated. Feliciano always got all of the attention. Grandpa _always_ played with him, he _always_ spent time with him. And whenever _I_ wanted to, he was always, always, _always _'too tired'". Lovino said, with hurt in his voice.

"I'm so sorry, Lovi. I-I can't even begin to relate to what you've been through." Antonio said.

"And then that's when I started getting mad. Started getting angry that I didn't get as much attention as Feliciano. I remember breaking his toys just so that I can release all that pent up rage. I broke them and hid them and I eventually felt better with time. I guess you can say I found some sort of happiness. But then one day, Feliciano came out crying. Apparently, Grandpa got mad at him because he thought that Feliciano was breaking his toys. I should have been happy that Feliciano was miserable but I wasn't. That's probably because Grandpa gave him mine. I couldn't break them because they were mine. I told Grandpa that that wasn't fair, that Feliciano should get his own toys. But told me this, _promised _me this, 'You're too old for these baby toys. Let Feliciano have them. I'll get you new ones.' And of course I was happy. I mean, he promised to get me new toys, but he never did. That lying son of a bitch never did." Lovino said that last part, bitterly.

Antonio was silent, listening to Lovino.

"So, every time I did something to Feliciano it never worked. I remember messing up Grandpa's painting, but nothing ever happened. I was just so mad, I had to do _something_. And I felt better because I felt that he deserved it. He deserved to have something of his messed up for treating me like he did. I don't know if he ever found out, but all I know is that I found Feliciano was in our room, crying. I figured it was from something else, but I don't know. I gave him one of my toys to cheer him up, and it did, but I was left feeling bad. It's like Feliciano got whatever I wanted one way or another. And I hate seeing him so upset. I can't stand it. That's why I broke up with you. I hoped that if I felt bad, Feliciano wouldn't have to and he could be happy once again…we both can't even be happy at the same time. I guess I'm just not meant to be happy." Lovino said, softly.

Antonio blinked. "Wait, Lovi. You said that whenever you did something to your brother, it never worked? That he always seems to bring you down whenever you're happy?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah." Lovino said.

Antonio paused, thoughtfully. "Well, what if when you did those things, they weren't discovered until later?" Antonio asked. "And during that time when you were finally happy they were discovered?"

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Lovino asked.

"Don't you see, Lovi? You're doing this to _yourself_!" Antonio said.

"Wh-What do you mean?" Lovino asked.

"Maybe you were so filled with jealousy that you felt like you had to do something to make other people feel as bad as you did." Antonio said.

Lovino didn't say anything, still looking confused.

"Think of it this way, Lovi. Have you ever _not_ tried sabotaging your brother?" Antonio asked.

Lovino paused for a moment. "No…I-I don't think so." Lovino said.

"Well, there you go! It was _you_ all along!" Antonio said.

"B-But that can't be. Y-You mean to tell me that I was making myself unhappy?" Lovino asked.

"That's the only way I see it." Antonio said.

Lovino's eyes widened. "W-Wow, I guess…I guess I was so overcome with hurt and rage that I wasn't thinking." Lovino said.

"Could be." Antonio said.

"I-I can't believe it. It was me. I-It was me all along." Lovino said, shocked.

Antonio put a hand on Lovino's shoulder. "It's alright, Lovi." Antonio said.

"S-So, does that mean that _I'm_ the reason why Feliciano's relationship ended?" Lovino asked.

Antonio gave Lovino a sad look. "Well, judging from what you told me then…maybe." Antonio said.

"Oh, God. B-But then if that's true, then what did I _do_?! If it _was_ me, then how did I cause them to break up?" Lovino asked.

"I don't know, Lovi." Antonio said.

They sat there for a while, letting Lovino come to terms with what he may or may not have done for all these years.

And it _hurt_ Lovino to find out that it had been _he_ who was hurting Feliciano for all this time.

He'd been hurting him all along and he didn't even _know_ it.

And as Antonio comforted Lovino, one thing came to his mind.

"Hey, Lovi?" Antonio called out.

"Yeah?" Lovino asked.

"When did you start calling me 'Toni'?" Antonio asked.

Lovino looked up. "What?" Lovino asked, confused.

"You called me 'Toni'. Ever since you saved me." Antonio said.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Lovino said.

"Oh, Lovi, you finally have a nickname for me, I'm so happy!" Antonio said, rushing forward and wrapping his arms around Lovino.

"N-No, I didn't! G-Get off of me!" Lovino yelled, blushing.

"Oh, yes you did, Lovi! Don't deny it! You made up a nickname for me!" Antonio gushed, rubbing his cheek against Lovino's.

Lovino growled, blushing even redder.

"So, what made you want to do it?" Antonio asked.

"I-I don't know! M-Maybe it was just the adrenaline talking! I-It's not like I _cared_ about you or anything! M-My body just moved on its own!" Lovino yelled, defensively.

"But you _do_! Why _else_ would you have saved me?" Antonio asked.

"I…I-I…I…" Lovino stuttered but fell silent.

"Thanks for saving me, Lovi. _Again._" Antonio said, pulling Lovino into another hug.

Lovino blushed even more and clutched Antonio's shirt.

They stayed like that before Lovino spoke up. "S-So, why'd you do it?" Lovino asked, softly.

"Hmm, do what, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

"Why'd you try to kill yourself?" Lovino asked.

Antonio sighed. "I don't know. I guess when people feel like they've lost everything, they just want to end it all…I wasn't thinking when I jumped. I just felt." Antonio said.

"I'm sorry." Lovino said, voice breaking.

Antonio squeezed Lovino tighter. "It's ok, Lovi. It's my fault. Don't blame yourself." Antonio said, soothingly.

Lovino blushed as Antonio held him.

"I'm just glad you saved me before it was too late." Antonio said.

Lovino's eyes widened then. "Oh, God!" Lovino yelled, jolting upright.

"Wh-What, Lovi?" Antonio asked, startled.

"Feliciano!" Lovino yelled. "I've got to save him!"

And with that, Lovino jumped up and bolted towards the forest.

"Wait, Lovi! Wait!" Antonio yelled, running after him.

Lovino was running ahead of Antonio.

Now, normally, Antonio could outrun Lovino, but now it was the opposite.

Lovino was outrunning Antonio.

But this wasn't under normal circumstances.

Antonio was running on stamina whereas Lovino was running on pure adrenaline.

And _damn_ was he _fast_!

They were running through the forest, ducking and dodging outstretched tree limbs.

A few minutes later, they burst through the bushes and into the city, but in a different part.

Since they fell off the cliff and into the water, they were in another part of the city and not the usual place where Lovino came through.

It wasn't far from where Lovino lived though.

When they got to the city, Lovino looked around, frantically.

He then began running again, trying to find Feliciano, but in vain.

Lovino then stopped to take a breath.

When he looked back up again, he still didn't see Feliciano, but he saw one person.

Ludwig.

He was walking down the other side of the street, still looking very much upset.

Probably still upset from his break up with Feliciano.

And then, with another burst of adrenaline, Lovino bolted forward and crossed the street, not bothering to wait to the crossing signal.

"Hey!" Lovino called out, loudly.

Ludwig looked around but didn't see anyone.

Lovino finally crossed the street and skidded to a halt in Ludwig's path.

"Lovino?" Ludwig asked, confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, you bastard!" Lovino called out, breathlessly. "I've been meaning to ask you. Why the _hell_ did you break up with Feliciano?!" Lovino asked.

Ludwig's brow lowered again. "Why? _Why_?! Because! That bastard_ cheated_ on me!" Ludwig yelled.

"_What_?! What the hell are you talking about?! Feliciano would _never_ cheat on you! Do you know how many times I've had to endure him telling me how much he _loved _you?!" Lovino asked.

Ludwig's brow rose, slightly then lowered again.

"_A lot _of times!" Lovino yelled.

Ludwig scoffed. "Ha. Ja, right. I _know_ he cheated on me! I have the verdammt evidence!" Ludwig yelled.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Lovino asked.

"_This_!" Ludwig said, bitterly, as he pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and showing it to Lovino.

"What is that?" Lovino asked.

"It's a phone number. I found it while I was cleaning Feliciano's dresser." Ludwig said, lowly.

Lovino stared at the paper, still unknowing.

Ludwig scoffed, angrily. "Bastard had the never to write 'call me' on the verdammt thing." Ludwig said.

And as Lovino continued eyeing the paper, his eyes finally widened in realization.

He remembered.

He _finally_ remembered!

_He _wrote that note.

He wrote it in that jealous rage that he'd been having throughout the years.

"I tried calling the number, but the bastard won't pick up. The pussy. That arschloch better hope that I don't get my hands on him." Ludwig seethed, snapping Lovino out of his horrified daze.

Lovino remembered him writing the note and hiding it in Feliciano's dresser.

So it _had_ been he who was hurting Feliciano all these years!

Oh, God, it was too much.

"S-So, wh-where'd you say you found it again?" Lovino asked, stuttering.

"In his dresser." Ludwig said, lowly.

"A-And you said that he was cheating on you?" Lovino asked.

"Ja, I don't need to be reminded of that, Lovino, thank you." Ludwig said.

Lovino gulped, heavily.

He had to tell him, it was now or never.

"I can't believe he'd do that to me." Ludwig said, lowly.

Lovino paused for a short while before he spoke up. "No, no, he didn't! He didn't cheat on you!" Lovino yelled, shaking his head.

"What? Ja, he did! I found the gottverdammte proof in his drawer!" Ludwig yelled.

"But, it wasn't him, I swear!" Lovino yelled, desperately.

"Oh, ja? Well, how am I supposed to believe you when I have the proof right here?!" Ludwig asked.

"Because it was _me_!" Lovino yelled.

Ludwig's eyes widened. "Wh-What? What did you just say?" Ludwig asked.

"I-It was me! It was me!" Lovino yelled. "I wrote it! _I_ wrote the note!"

"You _did_?! But, wh-wh-why?!" Ludwig asked, utterly confused. "Wh-Why would you do something like that?"

"Because I was _jealous_! I was jealous of you and Feliciano's relationship. You guys were so lovey-dovey, I couldn't _stand_ it! I hated how you guys always flirted in front of me! I hated how you guys had such a loving relationship. It reminded me of how I couldn't get a relationship like yours! And I _hated _it! I was miserable and I wanted Feliciano to be too, so I wrote the note and put it in Feliciano's dresser!" Lovino admitted.

Ludwig took a step back, aghast at Lovino's confession. "Oh. O-Oh, mien Gott. U-Und I said all those terrible things…" Ludwig said, with a horrified look on his face. "I-I'm sorry, Lovino. I-I didn't know that it hurt you so much. Wh-Why didn't you say anything?

"B-Because I didn't know _how_! Whenever I wanted to, my throat just closed up and I couldn't say anything." Lovino said.

"I…I-I didn't know. I'm so sorry, Lovino. If I knew how you felt, I wouldn't have done all of that." Ludwig said, apologizing.

"No, _I'm_ the one who should be sorry. I ruined you and Feliciano's relationship. And it was all because of my stupid jealousy. So, please. Save my brother, save Feliciano before it's too late." Lovino said, softly.

Ludwig's brow cocked in confusion. "What do you mean save him? Save him from what?" Ludwig asked.

"Well, when people feel like they've lost everything…they just want to end it all…" Lovino said, lowly.

Ludwig still stared at Lovino, confused.

"But I didn't realize that _you_ were his everything. And I took that away from him…and so…who knows what he'll do now that he's lost you. I spent so long. _So_ long comforting him after the break up. And all he could think about was you. No matter how much time had passed, you were all he thought about. Day in and day out. So, please. Save him. I'm _begging_ you to please save him…or else we'll _both_ lose him…for good. I'd go myself, but I don't know if he's still at home and plus, I don't think I can face him right now after what I've done. So, I'm handing the task over to you." Lovino said.

Ludwig's eyes widened then, realization hitting him like a ton of bricks. "Oh, Gott." Ludwig said, lowly.

"Remember when you told me that you would never let anything happen to Feliciano?" Lovino asked. "Well, I expect you to uphold that promise even if you aren't together anymore…got it?"

Ludwig gulped and nodded. "Ja…I got it." Ludwig said.

"Now, go. Please find him. I'm positive he's not at our house. He's been acting really weird lately and I'm worried that he might try something. Please, stop him, if you find him. Please." Lovino said.

Ludwig nodded and turned on his heel.

Just before he started running, he heard Lovino speak up once more.

"Hey! Bas-I mean, Ludwig!" Lovino called out.

Ludwig turned around, shocked that Lovino had said his name.

He had _never_ done _that_ before!

He'd always resorted to calling him different variations of bastard.

So, it was a real surprise to Ludwig when Lovino had called his name.

"J-Ja?" Ludwig asked, coming out of his stupor.

"That potato pasta was good. _Really_ good." Lovino said, blushing slightly and giving a small smile. "Just thought you should know that."

Ludwig smiled back. "Thanks, Lovino. That really means a lot." Ludwig said. "Und don't worry. I'll find Feliciano."

And with that, Ludwig turned back around and began running down the street.

Lovino looked after Ludwig for a short while before he heard a panting and wheezing sound.

He looked behind him to see that Antonio was all but stumbling towards him.

"Phew…Lovi…thank…God…I…found…you…phew…man, you run so fast." Antonio panted. "You…left me…behind back there…I figured I lost you…but then I finally found you…"

And as Antonio staggered towards Lovino, he collapsed, but was caught and held up by Lovino.

"Whoa, are you alright?" Lovino asked.

"Y-Yeah, I'm…I-I'm alright…j-just really…t-tired." Antonio panted out.

"That's good." Lovino said, pulling Antonio up.

"S-So, di-did…you f-find…your br-brother?" Antonio asked.

"No, although, I _did_ find his boyfriend-I-I mean _ex-_boyfriend." Lovino said.

"Yeah? And…wh-what…d-did he say?" Antonio asked.

"I told him. I told him that it was me all along." Lovino said.

"And what did he say?" Antonio asked, finally starting to catch his breath.

"He took it pretty well, actually. He apologized for all of the flirting he did in front of me. He said, he would have never done it if he knew how I felt about it." Lovino said.

"That's good. So, is he off to find your brother?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah. I told him that I could have Feliciano yet after what I'd done and he understood. So he's looking for him now." Lovino said.

"But wouldn't he be at your house?" Antonio asked.

Lovino shook his head. "No. He wouldn't be." Lovino said.

"Why not?" Antonio asked.

"Because. He's been acting strangely lately." Lovino said, remembering Feliciano's new behavior.

He'd begun acting vaguely similar to Antonio, lately, acting cheerful and carrying on like there was nothing wrong.

"Strange like how?" Antonio asked.

"Kinda like you were." Lovino said, lowly.

"Oh, no. D-Does that mean he's going to…" Antonio trailed off.

Lovino nodded his head, solemnly. "I think so. God, I hope he can get to him in time." Lovino said, worried.

"So do I. I don't want you to lose your only family, Lovi. I really don't." Antonio said.

"I hope he's ok." Lovino said, wrapping his arms around Antonio.

"I do too. I want to meet him. See what he's like." Antonio said, returning the hug.

"Hopefully, if we all make it through this, you will." Lovino said.

Antonio made a thoughtful sound before looking around. "Oh, hey, I know where we are!" Antonio said, happily.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Lovino asked, confused.

Antonio looked down at Lovino and smiled. "My house is around here. Come on, we can go there. I'm assuming that you don't want to be in your house right now." Antonio said.

Lovino blushed and shook his head. "No. I don't. I don't want to be around anything that reminds me of Feliciano right now." Lovino said.

Antonio chuckled. "Ok, Lovi. Let's go. It's just a short walk away from here, ok?" Antonio asked. "And hey, I can show you the renovations I did! I've wanted to show you and now's the perfect time…uh-excluding the current situation anyways.

"Ok. I'd love to see it." Lovino said.

"Good!" Antonio said. "You're gonna love it!

And with that, they began walking down the street, going to Antonio's house.

* * *

Ludwig was running-no-_sprinting_ down the street panting hard. "Oh, Gott! Oh, mein Gott! Where is he? I can't find him _anywhere_!" Ludwig said.

He checked all of their usual spots, but to no avail.

And since he didn't have his car because he wanted to take a walk to calm his nerves, Ludwig was stuck walking.

"Gottverdammte!" Ludwig yelled, as he came up to yet another dead end. "Feliciano?! Feliciano, where are you?!" Ludwig asked.

Ludwig was running around town like an absolute mad-man, looking for Feliciano.

And as he did, the memories began flooding back to him.

He remembered it clearly.

'Feliciano, what is this?' Ludwig said, trying to take a steady breath.

'Huh? What are you talking about, Luddy?' Feliciano asked.

'This _right_ here!' Ludwig snapped, startling Feliciano.

'What is that, Luddy?' Feliciano asked, confused.

Ludwig then looked at Feliciano then with anger filled eyes. 'Don't you _ask_ me what this is!' Ludwig yelled.

'B-But, Luddy, I-I don't know what you're talking about!' Feliciano said.

'I found this in your drawer! _Of course_ you know what I'm talking about! Don't play dumb with me!' Ludwig yelled.

"B-But, Luddy, I'm _not _playing dumb! I _really don't _know what you're talking about!' Feliciano yelled.

'Oh, ja, you _do_! How_ else_ would I have found this in your drawer?!' Ludwig asked.

Feliciano didn't say anything.

'Well?!' Ludwig asked, starling Feliciano.

'I-I don't know, Luddy.' Feliciano said, beginning to shake.

'Well, neither do I. It didn't just get up and _walk _in there! So, _you_ must have put in there to try and hide it from me!' Ludwig yelled.

'But, Luddy, I never put _anything_ in there to hide from you, I _swear_!' Feliciano yelled.

Ludwig scoffed. 'Whatever, we'll figure this out after you move in. We've got a _long_ talk ahead of us.' Ludwig said, lowly.

'O-Ok, Luddy.' Feliciano said, softly.

And after Feliciano had finally moved, in the tensions only got worse.

'Just tell what the hell is this?!' Ludwig asked.

"But, Luddy, I told you that I don't know!' Feliciano yelled.

'Stop playing _dumb_!' Ludwig yelled.

'I'm _not_! I don't even know what's going on! This is all really confusing!' Feliciano yelled.

Ludwig scoffed. 'You're just playing innocent.' Ludwig said, lowly.

'But how can I when I don't even know what's happening?' Feliciano asked.

They spent the rest of the week, arguing.

Or rather, Ludwig yelling at a confused Feliciano.

'Why do you keep _lying_ to me?!" Ludwig asked.

'But, I'm not. I-I'm not lying, Luddy, please believe me!' Feliciano cried, clinging on to Ludwig's arm.

Ludwig snatched his arm away as if Feliciano was acid. 'Don't touch me.' Ludwig said, coldly.

'L-Luddy…wh-what's happening to you?' Feliciano asked, softly.

Ludwig just ignored him and walked into another room and slammed the door.

The rest of the week, Ludwig had stopped talking to Feliciano altogether.

They had even taken to sleeping in different rooms at Ludwig's insistence.

And then finally after about a week of living with each other, it happened.

'Feliciano, we need to talk.' Ludwig said, lowly.

'What is it, Luddy?' Feliciano asked.

Ludwig took a deep breath before beginning. 'I think we should split up.' Ludwig said.

'Wh-What? But why?' Feliciano asked.

Ludwig looked at Feliciano. 'You know verdammt well why.' Ludwig said.

'No, Luddy, I don't. I really _don't_!' Feliciano said.

Ludwig scoffed. 'Look at you, playing innocent again. Acting like you have no idea what I'm talking about.' Ludwig said, coldly.

'But, I _don't_!' Feliciano said.

'You _do_! I'm not going to explain to you what you already know! I said we need to split up and I _mean_ it!' Ludwig yelled.

'No, Luddy, please! We can work this out, _please_!' Feliciano pleaded and clinging on to Ludwig's arm, eyes beginning to tear up.

Ludwig snatched his arm away from Feliciano and turn away. 'There's nothing _to_ work out. It's over.' Ludwig said.

'Luddy, no, _please_! We don't have to end it this way!' Feliciano cried.

'Ja…we do…it's over. I'll send you your things.' Ludwig said.

'No, Luddy, please, don't do this to me! I love you!' Feliciano began sobbing.

'And I felt the same way towards you…but not anymore.' Ludwig said, coldly.

'Did I do something to make you mad at me? What did I do?! Please tell me!' Feliciano sobbed.

'I already told you that I'm not going to explain to you what you already know. Stop playing dumb, you already know what you've done, so just stop.' Ludwig said.

"B-But, Luddy, I _don't_! How many time to I have to tell you-' was a Feliciano said before Ludwig turned on him.

'Get out of my house!' Ludwig yelled. 'I don't want you in here anymore! LEAVE!'

Feliciano took a step back.

And then he ran forward, hugging Ludwig. 'Please, Luddy, don't do this to me! Please! I _need _you! I _love_ you!' Feliciano sobbed.

Ludwig growled and pulled Feliciano off of him. 'I said don't _touch_ me!' Ludwig yelled.

Feliciano just looked at him with tear filled eyes.

Ludwig then turned his back towards Feliciano. 'I never want to see you again.' Ludwig said, lowly.

Feliciano's blood ran cold. 'Wh-What? What did you say?' Feliciano asked.

'I said that I never want to see you again!' Ludwig yelled.

Feliciano sank to his knees. "B-But…L-Luddy…y-you can't mean that." Feliciano stuttered.

Ludwig turned back around. 'Well, I do. Get up.' Ludwig said, icily.

'Luddy?' Feliciano asked.

'Get _up_!' Ludwig yelled angrily.

When Feliciano wouldn't comply, he growled and yanked Feliciano up by the arm.

'Ow, Luddy, you're hurting me!' Feliciano sobbed.

'Tell someone who cares.' Ludwig said, uncaringly.

And with that he walked Feliciano to the front door, opened it, and threw him out.

But before he slammed the door, he looked at Feliciano, angrily. 'I can't believe you'd do that to me. You were nothing but a waste of my time. All these years und for _what_? A cheap little_ fling_?! I could have done something more with my life than wasting those years on _you_.' Ludwig said, acid dripping from his words. 'Goodbye.'

And with that, he slammed the door in Feliciano's face.

A few minutes later, he heard knocking.

'Luddy? Please, I know you're mad at me, but we can work this out, _please_! Luddy? Please open up! Whatever I did, I'm really sorry!' Feliciano begged.

'GO AWAY! LEAVE!' Ludwig yelled.

Feliciano sank down against the door, sobbing. "Please, Luddy! _Please_ let me back in!' Feliciano begged.

'Feliciano, I'm _not _going to tell you again! It's _over_ between us! It's _over_!' Ludwig yelled, hoarsely.

'Please, Luddy, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for whatever I did. Please let me back in!' Feliciano begged knocking.

Ludwig didn't bother to respond.

He just let Feliciano knock away to his heart's content; he'd get the message soon enough.

He was _not_ opening the door for him.

And after a few hours later, Feliciano finally gave up.

'Ok, fine, Luddy! I get it! I'll leave and you never see me again!' Feliciano sobbed.

Ludwig scoffed, still sitting on the couch. '_Good_.' Ludwig said, bitterly.

And a few minutes later, there was no noise at the door.

Getting up off the couch, Ludwig dared himself to open the door.

When he did, he looked back and forth.

Feliciano was gone.

And after sighing in relief, Ludwig closed the door.

And on the way back to his living room, Ludwig passed by the picture of him and Feliciano and picked it up.

He looked at it with pure disdain on his face.

And balling his hand into a fist, he smashed picture and set it down, roughly on the table.

The next week, Ludwig began getting tired of looking at Feliciano's stuff and so, he called the moving company.

Once he got Feliciano's things packed up in the truck, he directed the man over to his former boyfriend's house.

But before that, Ludwig made sure to give Feliciano a little parting gift.

And so, taking up a pen and paper, Ludwig wrote down his final words to Feliciano.

When they arrived at the house, Ludwig threw Feliciano's things unceremoniously in front of the house, not caring if they broke or not.

The last thing he threw was the smashed picture of him and Feliciano on top of the pile.

He then attached the note on to one of the many bags.

He got back inside the truck and told the driver to knock on the door instead since he couldn't do it.

The driver complied and got out.

A few seconds later, the driver came back and sped off, careful not to peel off.

And as they were driving, the truck driver looked over at him. 'Wow, he must've really pissed you off, huh?' he asked.

'Ja…I guess he just wasn't the right one.' Ludwig said, looking out the window.

Ludwig was suddenly brought back to reality.

He was still running.

And his face was wet.

He stopped running, panting heavily, and legs on fire and touched his face.

He was sweating, but that wasn't what the wetness was.

No.

They were tears.

He was crying.

Oh, God, _how_ he have been so _stupid_?!

He had said such _horrible_ things to Feliciano!

Things that couldn't be taken back no matter how much he wanted to.

He had checked all of their usual places, but Feliciano wasn't at _any_ of them.

Ludwig walked around for a short while, utterly confused.

And then, his eyes widened in realization.

If Feliciano wasn't at any of their usual spot and he wasn't at his house, then that could only mean one thing.

That means…

"Oh, mein Gott!" Ludwig cursed. "Mein house!"

And so, turning on his heel, Ludwig turned around, and with another burst of adrenaline, he bolted towards the direction of his house.

Ludwig was all but sprinting towards his house, weaving in and out through crowds of people.

"Oh, Gott, please be ok, please be ok." Ludwig said to himself as he rounded corner after corner.

* * *

Feliciano was walking down the street with a smile on his face.

He was humming a tune to himself as he walked.

"I wonder what Luddy's up to today. Maybe I'll go see him." Feliciano said.

Feliciano began walking faster, making his way to Ludwig's house.

A short while later, he came up on Ludwig's house and when he saw it, he gave a big smile.

"Luddy's gonna be so happy to see me. He'll realize how much he misses me and then we'll get back together, I just _know_ it!" Feliciano said, voice bordering on insanity.

Feliciano bounded up to Ludwig's door and knocked. "Luddy, it's me! Come on, open up and let me in! I want to see you!" Feliciano said.

But there was no answer.

"Luddy? Come on, let me in! I miss you! Let's get back together and be happy once again! I'll do whatever you want and I won't make you mad at me anymore! I said sorry like a million times. I'll do it for real if you just let me in!" Feliciano said.

And again there was no answer.

Feliciano turned around and fell against the door.

"Darn…Luddy's still mad at me." Feliciano pouted.

He slid down the door and pulled his knees up to his chest.

"Why won't he let me in? I said I was sorry." Feliciano said.

Feliciano then looked around.

And then his eyes fell upon a window.

"Oh, I know! I'll surprise him! And _then_ he'll _have_ to take me back! It's so perfect!" Feliciano said, getting up.

Jumping to his feet Feliciano walked off the porch and up to a window.

He pushed it up and climbed in.

He had a bit of trouble getting in since it was kind of high for him, but he managed.

He climbed in and fell to the floor in a clumsy heap.

Getting up, Feliciano giggled and dusted himself off. "It looks like I can still get into Luddy's house even after all this time." Feliciano said, before walking through the house.

But before he left, he remembered to close the window.

Skipping over, Feliciano closed the window and smiled.

"Luddy doesn't like when the windows are open and nobody's in the room." Feliciano reminded himself.

And with that, Feliciano walked out of the room, looking for Ludwig.

He walked in room after room, calling Ludwig.

"Luddy? Luddy, where are you?" Feliciano said, in a sing song voice. "I've come to see you! Aren't you glad?"

After looking through the bottom level, Feliciano went upstairs.

As Feliciano walked up the stairs, he giggled.

"Luddy's playing hide-and-seek, isn't he?" Feliciano asked. "I'm gonna find you, Luddy! Just you wait!"

But he checked every room upstairs but Ludwig wasn't in any of them.

There was only one room left.

Ludwig's room.

"You're hiding in your room, aren't you, Luddy?" Feliciano asked. "You should know better than that. It's the most obvious spot!

Feliciano then walked over towards the door.

He stopped in front of it, giggling.

"I'm gonna find you, Luddy!" Feliciano said, before flinging the door open. "Gotcha!"

But Ludwig wasn't there.

Feliciano looked around the room and his smiled faded and his shoulders slumped.

"Aww, Luddy's not in here." Feliciano said, sadly, walking into the room.

There was no sign of Ludwig anywhere.

Feliciano sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands.

"Luddy left me. He left me. I knew he hated me. He left everything just to get away from me." Feliciano said.

Feliciano fell silent then.

He stayed like that for a while before he started giggling again.

"But why wouldn't he? I made him mad! He hates me now! And here I was thinking that we could get back together! No, we're over!" Feliciano said, still in his giggling fit.

And so getting up, Feliciano walked into Ludwig's bathroom.

He looked in the medicine cabinet and grabbed up one of Ludwig's razors he used to shave and took out the blade.

He then walked back into Ludwig's room.

"Oh, well. At least I can still be with Luddy's _stuff_. That's _kinda_ like being with him I guess." Feliciano said.

And with that Feliciano began to press the blade into his wrist.

But then he stopped.

"Hmm…too slow. I need something better." Feliciano said to himself.

Feliciano then began looking through Ludwig's stuff, searching for a quicker way to end it all.

He then started rifling through Ludwig's drawer.

He opened and closed each one finding nothing but clothes.

Until he came to the last one.

There, inside the drawer was a box.

"Huh, what is this?" Feliciano asked, trying to open the strange box. "It's locked."

Feliciano then looked around the room.

He then looked back at the box.

"I wonder what's inside it." Feliciano said, curiously.

Then Feliciano's curiosity peaked.

He had to know what was in the box.

And so, he looked through Ludwig's room, trying to locate the key.

He then came upon the dresser by Ludwig's bed. "I wonder…" Feliciano said, kneeling down.

He opened the small dresser and looked inside.

In there was another small box.

Feliciano picked up the box and looked inside it. "Ha, found you!" Feliciano said, happily.

And so, taking the key out of the box, Feliciano walked back over to the other dresser and picked up the box.

He put the key in the lock and twisted it.

The box slowly opened and what was inside it made Feliciano gasp.

There, in the box, plain as day, was a glint of something.

A gun.

It reflected the sunlight into Feliciano's face and made him squint.

"Oooh." Feliciano said, in awe.

He picked up the gun and held it clumsily in his hands.

No wonder Ludwig had this thing locked away.

"It's so heavy. And shiny." Feliciano said, with a smile.

He then stood up and looked in the mirror.

The gun was cold and hard in his warm and soft hands.

Tilting his head, he examined the gun.

"Ooooh, Luddy's not supposed to have a gun. They're too dangerous." Feliciano said.

He shook it in his hand and heard a dull clinking inside.

Was the gun fully loaded?

It must have been considering how heavy it was.

Looking at it closer, Feliciano saw something that said "safety".

He then giggled to himself again. "Safety on a gun. That's funny." Feliciano said.

He switched it off and heard a click.

He continued staring at the shining piece of steel in his hands.

And just for kicks, he pressed it to his temple, just like they did in the movies. "Bang!" Feliciano said, giggling.

He was so into his own little world that he didn't even hear the front door slam open.

He continued staring into the mirror with a twisted smile on his face.

"I don't have to worry about being gone forever. Luddy will see me again soon, so he won't miss me. I'll just visit him. He'll love that." Feliciano said, smiling.

And then he began to squeeze the trigger.

He squeezed it a little more when all of a sudden…

_Slam_!

Ludwig ran into the room, panting heavily.

He saw Feliciano standing in front of the mirror with a very creepy smile on his face.

And then his eyes widened when he realized what Feliciano was doing in front of the mirror.

He was holding something to his head.

A gun.

_His_ gun.

Ludwig looked down and saw that the box that the gun was in had been opened.

"Feliciano, what are you doing?!" Ludwig asked, in disbelief.

Feliciano turned towards Ludwig then. "Oh. Luddy, when did you get here? I was looking all over for you." Feliciano said.

"Feliciano…put the gun down." Ludwig said, slowly.

"But why, Luddy?" Feliciano asked, innocently. "I don't have anything anymore. So, what's the point of living?"

Ludwig gulped. "But, that's not true, Feliciano. You have your brother…und you have _me_." Ludwig said.

Feliciano giggled. "Stop trying to stop me, Luddy. You already told me how you felt about me, so I know that's not true. And Lovino can live without me, he's strong." Feliciano said.

"But, Feliciano I was _wrong_! I shouldn't have said all those things to you. I should have let you explain yourself. I should have listened to you. I'm so sorry, Feliciano! I'm sorry!" Ludwig said. "Now, please put down the gun und let's just talk about this, ok?"

Feliciano made a thoughtful sound. "Hmmm…no." Feliciano said, simply.

"Wh-What?" Ludwig said, in disbelief.

"You said what you said. There's no taking it back now. Especially when you told me that you didn't want to see me anymore and that I was a waste of your time." Feliciano said.

And as Ludwig's looked into Feliciano's eyes, what he saw scared him to death.

Actually, it was what he _didn't_ see.

He looked into Feliciano's eyes but Feliciano wasn't looking back.

There was something different in his eyes.

_Nothing._

That wasn't Feliciano that was looking back at him.

He was just looking at an empty husk of a person.

"Feliciano, p-please. Just put the gun down. We can work all of this out, ok?" Ludwig said.

"Did _you_ want to work anything out? Huh? When I begged you to talk about us, did _you_ want to talk about it? _No_! So, why should _I _have to listen to what _you _want to do?!" Feliciano asked.

Ludwig flinched.

Feliciano had _never_ yelled at him like that.

Not even when they had argued.

"I-I know that, Feliciano. Und I'm very sorry for what I did. Truly sorry. But this has gotten a bit out of hand, don't you think?" Ludwig asked.

"Nope!" Feliciano said. "Now, go away, I'm trying to do something here." Feliciano said, turning back towards the mirror.

Ludwig couldn't take it anymore.

He couldn't let Feliciano kill himself.

Not after he'd promised Lovino that he'd protect Feliciano no matter what.

And so, with a quick burst of adrenaline, Ludwig lurched forward, reaching for the gun.

The struggle for the gun ensued.

And after a few minutes of struggling, the gun went off.

* * *

"So, how do you like it, Lovi?" Antonio asked, beaming.

"Wow, it's…it's really nice." Lovino said, in awe.

"See? I _knew_ you'd like it!" Antonio said. "And you would even believe what it looked like before the renovation.

"B-But how did you afford all this?" Lovino asked.

"Well, I borrowed some money from a friend." Antonio said.

"What? And he just _gave _it to you?" Lovino asked, shocked.

Antonio laughed. "Yeah! I mean, I didn't want to take it, but he made me! It was my friend, Gilbert. Apparently, I was living in a piece of crap. Well, that's how he described it anyways." Antonio said, tilting his head.

"Oh." Lovino said, simply.

"Come on, Lovi, we're not done with the tour yet!" Antonio said, grabbing Lovino's hand, excitedly.

Antonio all but dragged Lovino from room to room.

"H-Hey, will you slow _down_ already?!" Lovino asked.

Antonio laughed. "Sorry, Lovi. I guess I'm just so excited to finally show you my house." Antonio said.

They continued the tour upstairs and went into each room, Antonio explaining each one, excitedly.

They then had one room left.

Antonio's bedroom.

"And _this_ is my bedroom!" Antonio beamed.

"Wow, it sure is colorful." Lovino said, looking at all the bright colors adorning Antonio's bedroom walls.

"Yep! Sure is!" Antonio said, walking over to the bed and sitting down. "Come here, Lovi. Sit with me."

Lovino walked forward and sat down next to Antonio. "You have a really nice house." Lovino said.

"Aww, thanks, Lovi. That means a lot coming from you." Antonio said.

They sat there for a while in silence.

Lovino gave a big sigh.

"Something wrong, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

"It's Feliciano. I can't stop thinking about. What if he's already dead? What if he didn't get to him in time?" Lovino asked.

Antonio pulled Lovino closer to him. "Don't worry, Lovi. You brother's ok. And I bet his boyfriend-I mean _ex_-boyfriend is talking to him as we speak." Antonio said.

"B-But what if he's not? What if he was too late? A-Am I gonna be the only one of my family left? All these questions and I can't find any answers to them. My head hurts. I can't stop thinking about it!" Lovino yelled, holding his head.

Antonio made a thoughtful sound. "Hmmmm…well, then, Lovi. I guess _you_ need a distraction." Antonio said.

"Huh? Distraction? What are you talking abo-" was all Lovino could say before he was cut off by Antonio.

Antonio leaned forward and pressed his lips to Lovino's silencing him.

Lovino's eyes widened as Antonio kissed him.

He then pulled away, shocked. "T-Toni, What are you doing?!" Lovino asked.

"See, there you go calling me Toni again! Oh, Lovi, you're so cute!" Antonio said.

W-Will you sh-shut up about that?! I only said that in the heat of the moment!" Lovino yelled, blushing.

"Oh, you're just saying that, Lovi!" Antonio gushed. "You _know _you love calling me Toni! It's so cute!"

"N-No, I d-don't! Get off of me, you asshole!" Lovino yelled.

"Ah, ah, ah. Oh, no, Lovi, I'm not letting you go again." Antonio said, pulling Lovino to the middle of the bed.

"W-Wait, wh-what are you d-doing?!" Lovino asked.

Antonio laughed. "Oh, nothing. Just relax, Lovi!" Antonio said.

"Relax?! What do you mean rela-" Lovino was cut off again and Antonio kissed him again.

Antonio put his hand on Lovino's arms and fell on top of him, still kissing him.

Lovino finally pushed Antonio off of him again. "St-Stop that, you pervert!" Lovino yelled.

Antonio giggled and then began kissing Lovino's neck, pushing him back down again.

Lovino squirmed underneath Antonio, creeped out by the weird feeling.

He tried to push Antonio off of him, but now that he had a good grip on his arms, he was too strong.

"T-Toni, st-stop that, I-_ah_!" Lovino said, as Antonio found a sensitive spot on Lovino's neck.

Antonio pulled back. "Whoa, Lovi, did you just moan? Did it feel that good?" Antonio asked.

"N-No, it didn't! You were forcing yourself on me, you asshole!" Lovino yelled.

"Oh, I don't think so, Lovi. From the way you moaned, I'd say you liked it." Antonio said, smiling.

"I-I _didn't_ like it!" Lovino yelled.

"_Sure_, you didn't, Lovi." Antonio said.

And with that, Antonio leaned back down towards Lovino and began attacking his neck again, looking for that sensitive spot.

"T-Toni, g-get off of me! I-I said I don't like-ah!" Lovino said, as he was interrupted by another moan.

Lovino instinctively clutched Antonio's shirt.

Antonio smirked against Lovino's skin. "Found it." Antonio said to himself.

He then went back to work, abusing that spot on Lovino's neck.

Lovino squirmed underneath Antonio, still clutching his shirt tightly.

"Ngh! Ah! T-Toni!" Lovino moaned out.

Antonio pulled away, smirking. "God, Lovi. I love it when you call me that." Antonio said.

Lovino was panting, face flushed.

Antonio smiled and leaned down to capture Lovino's lips in a kiss again.

And Lovino's hands instinctively went up to Antonio's chest to push him away.

But Antonio pushed back, hand on Lovino's head.

He stroked his hair and accidently stroked the curl again.

"_Ah_!" Lovino moaned loudly.

Antonio used that moment when Lovino moaned to stick his tongue in his mouth.

"Mmph!" Lovino moaned at the instrusion.

Antonio explored the inside of Lovino's mouth, relishing the moment that he was able to do this.

Antonio finally pulled back, leaving Lovino panting below him.

And as Antonio looked down at Lovino, he felt something stirring in his pants.

And Lovino looking up at him panting and face flushed was _not _helping.

Antonio then began taking Lovino's clothes off.

"T-Toni, what are you doing?" Lovino asked.

"Relax, Lovi. Just let me do everything." Antonio said.

Antonio pulled Lovino's shirt off and then began working on his pants.

Lovino gasped. "W-Wait, Toni! I-I don't think I'm ready for this yet!" Lovino said.

Antonio gave Lovino another kiss. "Don't worry, I'll be gentle." Antonio said.

And with that, pulled off Lovino's pant until he was in nothing but his boxers.

Antonio stared down at Lovino's body.

Lovino blushed, and covered himself. "T-Toni, stop looking at me like that." Lovino said.

"So cute." Antonio said to himself.

Antonio then began taking Lovino's boxers off.

He was about to pull the waistband down when Lovino's hands stopped him. "W-Wait, Toni! I don't know if I want to keep going!" Lovino said.

Antonio smiled. "It's ok, Lovi. I won't make you do anything you don't want to." Antonio reassured.

Lovino gulped.

And with that Antonio pulled Lovino's boxers off, leaving him completely naked.

Lovino's hand instinctively went down to cover himself.

Antonio pulled Lovino's hands away. "I told you it's ok, Lovi. Man, you are really shy when the time comes." Antonio said.

Antonio's hands roamed over Lovino's body, Lovino quivering under his touch.

He then began kissing all over Lovino's body.

First his neck.

Then his chest.

And finally, his lips.

As he kissed Lovino, Antonio's hand brushed over a nipple and Lovino moaned.

This allowed Antonio to slip his tongue into Lovino's mouth again.

After exploring Lovino's mouth, Antonio pulled back and looked down at Lovino again.

He was blushing a dark red.

Reaching over, Antonio opened the small dresser by his bed and pulled out a bottle of lube.

When Lovino saw this, his eyes widened. "N-No, Toni, I-I'm not ready for that yet!" Lovino protested.

"Relax, Lovi. I'm not going to do that. I'm just gonna prepare you." Antonio said.

Antonio opened the bottle and poured a generous amount on to his fingers.

He then spread Lovino's legs and put his fingers at his entrance. "Now, this may hurt a little, so be prepared." Antonio warned.

Lovino gulped and with that, Antonio pressed a finger inside.

Lovino gasped at the cold and hissed at the intrusion.

"What's wrong, Lovi? Did I hurt you?" Antonio asked, worried.

"N-No. I-It just feels weird is all." Lovino said.

Antonio smiled in relief.

He then added another finger, stretched Lovino wider.

He pushed in and out and scissored his fingers, stretching Lovino even wider.

Lovino hissed at the slight pain.

Antonio waited for a while before he felt that Lovino was ready for another finger.

When Lovino didn't make any uncomfortable faces, Antonio added a third finger.

Lovino gasped as Antonio slipped the third finger in.

"Just breath slowly, Lovi. We're almost done." Antonio said.

Lovino nodded and took slow deep breaths.

Antonio then began moving the fingers in and out, making sure that Lovino was comfortable.

With every push, Antonio went deeper and deeper, stretching Lovino thoroughly.

And on one particular push, Antonio hit something deep inside Lovino.

"_AH! _Toni!" Lovino moaned out, arching his back.

Antonio stopped and looked at Lovino who was panting heavily.

"Wh-What…what…was that?" Lovino asked, breathlessly.

Antonio chuckled. "That was your prostate, Lovi. It's a sensitive spot in your body that makes you feel good when you touch it." Antonio explained.

"D-Do…C-Can you d-do it aga-again?" Lovino asked, blushing.

Antonio smiled. "Of course, Lovi." Antonio said.

And with that, Antonio pushed his fingers deeper inside Lovino, curling his fingers, trying to find that spot again.

After prodding around again, Antonio felt something and brushed against it.

"Ngh! Ah!" Lovino moaned out, body shaking with pleasure.

Antonio smiled. "Found it." Antonio said, smirking.

And now that Antonio knew where Lovino spot was, he was free to abuse it.

And so, Antonio continued rubbing the spot, sending wave after wave of pleasure up Lovino's spine, watching as Lovino convulsed on the bed moaning in pleasure.

"Ah! Ngh! Hah…ah. Nnngh! _Ah_!" Lovino moaned out, feeling himself get hard.

And watching Lovino in the throes of pleasure made Antonio's pants grow even tighter.

Lovino then looked at Antonio with half-lidded eyes. "N-No, Toni! D-Don't look me! Ah! _Ah_!" Lovino said, trying to form a coherent sentence.

Well…_that_ did it.

Seeing Lovino like that made Antonio not able to hold himself back anymore.

He took his fingers out of Lovino and began taking his clothes off as fast as he could.

Lovino whined at the loss of the feeling of fingers inside him.

He look up at Antonio who scrambling to take his clothes off.

Once he finally got his shirt off, he began undoing his pants.

After a short while of fumbling with the button and zipper Antonio finally unzipped his pants and pulled them down, revealing his clothed erection.

Lovino looked down and began panting with anticipation.

He then watched as Antonio pulled off his boxers and was fixated on Antonio's naked body.

Lovino blushed even redder and his body heated up.

Antonio looked down at Lovino then and smiled.

He leaned down over Lovino and licked up to his ear. "You want it, don't you, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

Lovino moaned at his words.

Antonio chuckled and pulled back.

He then reached for the bottle of lube and squeezed some on to his hand and started applying it to himself.

And as he was spreading the lube over his erection, he began giggling uncontrollably.

When he was done, he looked up to see that Lovino was glaring at him.

"What is it, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

"Bastard. You're _too_ happy!" Lovino said, annoyed.

Antonio laughed nervously. "N-No, Lovi, it's not like that! I-I'm just really excited, that's all." Antonio tried to explain.

Lovino rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Yeah, whatever." Lovino said.

Antonio then leaned over Lovino and spread his legs, placing his erection at his entrance.

Lovino gasped as his hands went to cover himself. "N-No, wait, stop!" Lovino yelled.

"Wh-What is it, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

"I-I don't know if I want to do this anymore!" Lovino said.

"But, why not, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

Lovino then blushed a dark red. "I-I'm a virgin…" Lovino trailed off.

Antonio was taken aback. "Wh-What?! You're a virgin?!" Antonio asked, in disbelief.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want!" Lovino said, angrily. "I'm a virgin, so what?!"

"No, no, Lovi. I wasn't going to laugh at you!" Antonio said defensively.

"Then why did you ask me like that?" Lovino asked.

"I was just surprised." Antonio said.

"Surprised at what?" Lovino asked.

"I was surprised that you were a virgin. I mean, someone as cute as you and you're still a virgin?" Antonio asked.

Lovino blushed. "Y-Yeah, s-so what?" Lovino stuttered.

"Nothing. I just means that I get to be your first." Antonio said. "That makes me happy."

Antonio then leaned down as kissed Lovino.

He then pulled Lovino's hands away from his entrance and by his side.

He then grabbed his erection and placed it at Lovino's entrance again.

"Now, this may hurt a bit, Lovi, so be ready for that." Antonio warned.

And with that, Antonio began pushing himself into Lovino.

Lovino gasped and arched his back.

Antonio pushed his hips down and began pushing deeper and deeper.

Lovino moaned at the feeling of being filled up.

"Just relax, Lovi. I'm almost halfway in." Antonio said.

Lovino hissed at the pain of being stretched farther than the fingers had stretched him.

He clutched on to Antonio's arm nails digging into the skin.

Antonio groaned at how tight Lovino was.

After a few minutes of pushing slowly into Lovino, Antonio was finally fully inside him.

Antonio stayed like that, letting Lovino get used to him.

He wanted to move, desperately, but he had to wait until Lovino was used to him.

Lovino's vice-like grip died down a little as he slowly got used to Antonio inside him.

He then opened his eyes and looked up at Antonio.

Antonio was looking right back at him, waiting for conformation.

Lovino nodded, panting slightly. "Ok." Lovino said, softly.

And with that, Antonio began moving in and out of Lovino.

Lovino moaned at the strange feeling.

This was all so new to him.

As time went on, Antonio kept thrusting faster and faster, building a rhythm for himself.

"God, Lovi, you're so tight!" Antonio grunted.

Lovino only moaned in response.

Antonio went deeper and deeper into Lovino with each thrust.

And then, on one thrust, Antonio hit something inside of Lovino.

"_Ah_! Toni!" Lovino moaned as he arched his back.

Antonio smiled. "Found it." Antonio said.

Antonio then pulled out some, readjusted himself and slammed back inside Lovino, hitting that spot, dead on.

"_Ah_!" Lovino moaned, loudly and instinctively wrapping his arms around Antonio's neck.

Antonio thrusted into Lovino, hitting his spot over and over again.

Lovino was reduced to a moaning a squirming mess beneath him.

Antonio looked down and watched Lovino's face.

His eyes were closed and his mouth was open, moans escaping from him.

Antonio then started stroking, Lovino's hair as he thrusted into him.

He brushed against the curl again and Lovino let out a loud moan.

"_Ah_! Toni!" Lovino moaned.

Antonio cocked an eyebrow. "What was that?" Antonio asked himself.

He tried stroking Lovino's hair again, but this time, nothing happened.

Antonio was confused.

Why did Lovino moan when he stroked his hair?

That bugged Antonio.

It was so confusing.

And then that's when he noticed the curl on Lovino's head.

Curious, Antonio tilted his head and reached for the curl.

He gave it an experimental pull and he was surprised then.

Because when he pulled that one stray hair, Lovino moaned out again.

"Ahn! Ngh…hah!" Lovino moaned.

So _that _was it!

_Now,_ Antonio got it!

He then remembered the first time it happened and the look on Lovino's face.

Antonio then smiled to himself and leaned down to kiss Lovino.

Lovino wrapped his arms around Antonio's neck, and to his surprise, Lovino kissed back!

And opened mouthed at that!

Lovino moaned into the kiss, letting Antonio explore his mouth.

His tongue wrestled with Antonio's for a while and he deepened the kiss.

Lovino's passionate behavior only made Antonio want to thrust harder.

And he did, making sure to hit Lovino's spot on every single thrust.

"_Ah_! Ngh…ahn…hah! Ah! T-Toni!" Lovino moaned out as he wrapped his arms around Antonio's torso.

Lovino's legs found themselves wrapping around Antonio's waist and his fingers found themselves lacing into Antonio's hair.

Antonio thrusted into Lovino making him whimper and moan with each thrust.

Lovino clung to Antonio of dear life, moaning into his ear.

"You like that, Lovi?" Antonio purred into Lovino's ear.

Lovino moaned as response.

Antonio then pulled away, from Lovino and grabbed his hips.

Antonio then began pounding into Lovino.

Lovino gripped the sheets, and moaned in ecstasy.

"Ah! Toni! T-Toni! Ngh…Ahn! M-More…more!" Lovino moaned.

Antonio complied and gripped Lovino's hips tighter and began thrusting into Lovino as fast as he could.

Lovino was all but thrashing about and screaming in pleasure.

And soon Antonio could feel his release coming.

And from the way Lovino was squirming around on the bed, he was too.

Lovino then began panting hard. "Ah! Toni…T-Toni…I-I'm gonna…I'm gonna…Ahn!" Lovino moaned out.

Antonio kept pounding into Lovino, and after a few more thrusts, Lovino couldn't take it anymore.

"Ahhhh! Toni! TONI!" Lovino yelled as he came all over himself, screaming in pure pleasure.

As Lovino came, Antonio felt Lovino's walls squeezing around him.

The pressure was too much and after a few more thrusts, Antonio came as well, deep inside Lovino.

Lovino moaned as he felt Antonio's hot seed spill inside of him.

Antonio rode out his orgasm with a few more thrusts.

When he was done, he collapsed on top of Lovino, panting heavily.

They both just lay there, still in their post orgasmic high.

And then Antonio got up and planted a kiss on Lovino's lips.

They made out for a short while before Antonio rolled off of Lovino.

They lay there, side by side, still panting.

"Wow, Lovi. That was amazing." Antonio panted out.

Lovino didn't say anything, and just kept panting.

"God, Lovi, you have no idea how much I've wanted to do that." Antonio said.

Lovino huffed and turned away from Antonio. "Pervert." Lovino said.

"Aww, come on, Lovi, don't be like that." Antonio said, draping an arm over Lovino. "I was just kidding."

Lovino huffed again.

Antonio rolled Lovino over and pulled him into his chest. "So, how did you like it, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

"It hurt like hell." Lovino said.

"But it felt good once we got started, right?" Antonio asked.

Lovino didn't say anything and blushed. "M-Maybe." Lovino said.

"Oh, come on, Lovi, stop being so indifferent. You know you loved it." Antonio said.

Lovino grumbled.

"And the way you said my name was so hot." Antonio said.

"Sh-Shut up!" Lovino yelled, blushing a deep red.

Antonio laughed and pulled Lovino closer. "I'm kidding, Lovi. I'm just saying that for somebody that didn't want to do it, you sure were enjoying it!" Antonio said.

Lovino scoffed. "Bastard." Lovino said, lowly.

"But, I am glad that I got to be your first." Antonio said, sweetly.

Lovino blushed again as Antonio hugged him. "Whatever. Just shut up, already." Lovino said.

Antonio just smiled and nuzzled Lovino's head.

* * *

They were frozen.

Everything just stopped at the crack of the gun.

They sank down to their knees, the severity of the situation too much.

Ludwig exhaled a shaky breath had he held onto Feliciano.

He had dropped the gun and it lay on the floor, smoke coming from the barrel.

Feliciano moved in Ludwig's embrace.

Ludwig quickly inspected himself to see if he had been shot.

He didn't see a bullet hole or feel any pain.

Then his heart raced as he began to check Feliciano.

After seeing that Feliciano hadn't been injured either, he sighed in great relief.

"Feliciano. Feliciano are you ok?" Ludwig asked.

Feliciano looked up at Ludwig, eyes still empty. "Darn, I missed." Feliciano said, sofly.

Ludwig's eyes widened.

"I guess I'll just have to try again." Feliciano said, reaching for the gun.

Ludwig instantly raised his hand and slapped Feliciano across the face. "Feliciano, snap out of it!" Ludwig yelled.

Feliciano looked up at Ludwig and smiled. "Oh, I know. Luddy, why don't _you_ do it? You already hate me, so it'll be easy for you. And you don't have to worry about me being gone. I'll just come visit you again!" Feliciano said, smiling. "I'm glad that I can be with you for real before I go."

Ludwig's heart started racing again and he slapped Feliciano again. "Feliciano, you have to wake up!" Ludwig yelled.

"Ow, you hurt me. You're gonna have to do a lot better than that to kill me Luddy. Ooh, I know! Use your gun! Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I promise." Feliciano said.

Ludwig's shoulders slumped and tears fell down his cheeks.

He felt absolutely helpless.

Feliciano still wanted to die.

And there was nothing he could do to convince him.

And so Ludwig leaned forward embracing Feliciano.

"I'm sorry, Feliciano. I'm so sorry." Ludwig sobbed.

Feliciano just stayed inert in Ludwig's embrace.

He was still in his own little world.

"Oh, Gott, why was I so stupid? _Why_ didn't I listen when you tried to tell me?!" Ludwig asked.

"Luddy? What's taking so long? Are you going to kill me or not?" Feliciano asked.

Ludwig held Feliciano tighter. "It should have been me. I should have gotten shot! It's the perfect punishment for me making you feel as bad as you did. It should have been me…" Ludwig trailed off.

"Luddy? What are you waiting for? Do it already!" Feliciano said.

Ludwig pulled away from Feliciano, tears in his eyes.

He gripped Feliciano's arms and leaned forward, pressing his lips to Feliciano's.

Feliciano's hands tried pushing Ludwig away, but Ludwig held fast, kissing Feliciano harder.

'Please let this work. Let Feliciano come back to me, _please_!' Ludwig thought, desperately.

Ludwig kissed Feliciano for what seemed like forever.

He then pulled away, desperate to see what the effect was.

Feliciano looked up at Ludwig, eyes still clouded over. "L-Luddy?" Feliciano asked.

"J-Ja?" Ludwig asked, desperately.

"L-Luddy, is that you?" Feliciano asked.

"J-Ja, it's me! Feliciano, it's me!" Ludwig said.

The haze in Feliciano's eyes slowly faded as he returned to his normal state. "Luddy? What happened?" Feliciano asked.

"Wh-What? You mean you don't remember?" Ludwig asked.

"Well, not everything. It all seems like a big haze to me." Feliciano said. "So, what happened?"

Ludwig opened his mouth, but lost his voice.

He was speechless.

"Luddy? Please tell me what happened." Feliciano said.

"Y-You tried to kill yourself…" Ludwig trailed off.

"I did? Oh, yeah…it's coming back to me now. I remember climbing into your house and looking for you…and then the gun…" Feliciano said, looking down at the gun.

His eyes widened as he looked at the abandoned firearm.

He then searched his memory for the events that happened next.

"And then…a loud bang." Feliciano said, looking back up at Ludwig. "And then I-" Feliciano said, before gasping.

Ludwig saw that Feliciano wasn't looking at him.

He was looking at something behind him.

And so, turning around, Ludwig saw what Feliciano was staring at.

There, in the wall, was a bullet hole.

Ludwig's blood ran cold.

That could have been either of them.

Ludwig then felt Feliciano collapse into him

"I almost did it! I almost did it, Luddy!" Feliciano sobbed.

Ludwig turned back around and held Feliciano in his arms.

They stayed like that until Feliciano stopped crying.

Getting up, Ludwig walked Feliciano out of the room and into the living room.

He made sure that Feliciano was ok before going back in his room and straightening up the place.

He put the gun back in the box and hid it when no one would ever find it again.

He also hid the key box in a different place as well.

When he came back into the living room, he found Feliciano clutching a pillow, nervously.

He sat down next to him and pulled him into his chest. "You're going to be alright, Feliciano." Ludwig said, rubbing Feliciano's head.

For the next few days, Feliciano wouldn't even go near Ludwig's room anymore.

Ludwig had to settle for sleeping on the couch with Feliciano huddled up in his arms.

But Ludwig could only take it for so long.

He needed a bed to sleep in.

The couch wasn't a good choice.

It was making his back hurt.

He had to convince Feliciano to get over his fear.

Somehow.

And so, one night, Ludwig led Feliciano upstairs and towards his room.

When they got close, Feliciano stopped in his tracks.

Ludwig looked back at Feliciano.

He was shaking.

"N-No, Luddy! I-I don't want to go in there!" Feliciano said, tearing up.

"But we have to, Feliciano! You need to get over your fear!" Ludwig said.

"N-No, Luddy, I don't want to go in there!" Feliciano said. "Why can't we sleep in a different room?"

"Because I don't like that bed. It's too hard." Ludwig said. "Now, come on."

Feliciano dug his feet into the floor. "No, Luddy, please don't make me go in there!" Feliciano sobbed.

"Feliciano." Ludwig said.

He watched as Feliciano sobbed.

"Please, Luddy. Please don't make me go!" Feliciano said.

Ludwig then pulled Feliciano into his arms.

"Don't worry, Feliciano. It'll be alright. I'll be here with you. Und I won't leave you." Ludwig said.

Feliciano whimpered into his shirt.

And so, slowly, Ludwig led Feliciano into his room, Feliciano hesitating slightly.

He finally managed to get Feliciano to sit down on his bed.

He began pulling of his clothes, putting them on a nearby chair.

Once he was undressed he looked at Feliciano and saw that he was still sitting there.

Sighing, Ludwig walked over and helped Feliciano out of his clothes.

He got Feliciano to lie down and got under the covers with him, wrapping an arm around him.

"Goodnight, Feliciano." Ludwig said, pulling Feliciano closer to him.

He was about to doze off when he heard Feliciano whimper.

"Feliciano, what's wrong?" Ludwig asked.

He looked at Feliciano and saw that he was staring at the bullet hole.

"Feliciano, don't look at it. It'll just keep reminding you of it." Ludwig said.

"B-But I can't. I keep thinking about it. And no matter how hard I try, it keeps coming back! I can't stop thinking about it!" Feliciano said, as he began crying again.

Ludwig paused, thinking.

Sighing, he then rolled over on top of Feliciano. "Feliciano, stop crying." Ludwig said, pulling Feliciano's hand from his face.

Feliciano looked up at him with tear filled eyes.

Ludwig leaned down and started kissing Feliciano's neck, trying to console him.

"L-Luddy, wh-what are you doing?" Feliciano asked.

Ludwig pulled away. "You need a distraction." Ludwig said.

"D-Distraction? Wh-What do you me-" was all Feliciano said before Ludwig silenced him with a kiss.

Ludwig pulled away and began kissing Feliciano's neck again.

He then began nibbling on Feliciano's collarbone.

"_Ah_! Luddy!" Feliciano moaned, gripping Ludwig's arms.

Ludwig then came back up and kissed Feliciano again.

Feliciano moaned into the kiss.

Ludwig used that time to stick his tongue into Feliciano's mouth.

He tilted his head to deepen the kiss.

He then grabbed one of Feliciano's legs and wrapped it around his waist.

Feliciano slowly responded to the kiss and eventually kissed back.

As they made out, Ludwig felt something stirring in his boxers.

He pulled back looked down at Feliciano.

He was panting hard, face flushed.

Ludwig then began undressing Feliciano.

Since they were already undressed, he didn't have to take as much clothing off.

He pulled Feliciano's t-shirt off over his head.

He then pulled Feliciano's boxers off, leaving him lying naked beneath him.

He reached over and opened the small dresser next to the bed and pulled out a bottle of lube.

He squeezed some on his fingers and spread Feliciano's legs and placed his fingers at his entrance.

He looked up at Feliciano to make sure he was ok and then stuck a finger into Feliciano.

Feliciano gasped at the sudden intrusion.

Ludwig added another finger and scissored them to stretch Feliciano.

Feliciano gasped and moaned as Ludwig fingered him.

And finally, Ludwig added the third and final finger.

He pushed deeper into Feliciano, curling his fingers, and making sure to prepare him properly.

Ludwig pushed his fingers in and out of Feliciano, watching him squirm intently.

When his fingers went back in, they brushed against something.

"_Ah_!" Feliciano moaned, arching his back.

Ludwig smiled. "Found it." Ludwig said.

He then began abusing that spot, making Feliciano cry out in pleasure.

He watched as Feliciano squirmed and moaned in pleasure.

Feliciano opened his eyes, watching himself get hard. "_Ah_, Luddy!" Feliciano moaned out.

Feliciano squirmed and arched his back as Ludwig sent wave after wave of pleasure up his spine.

Feliciano was panting and moaning loudly.

"Ngh! Ah! Hah…ngh! Ahn! Ah! L-Luddy!" Feliciano moaned.

Ludwig blushed, watching Feliciano squirm at his touch with half-lidded eyes.

He then felt the arousal in his boxers grow even bigger.

He heaved a shaky breath as he watched Feliciano in the throes of pleasure.

Seeing Feliciano like that stirred up old memories and made him pant with anticipation.

Ludwig pulled his fingers out of Feliciano then.

Feliciano whined at the lost pleasure.

Ludwig sat back on his knees and pulled off his muscle shirt, revealing his muscled chest and abs.

Feliciano began panting heavily at the sight.

Ludwig then removed his boxers, freeing his arousal from its cloth prison.

Feliciano moaned at the sight of Ludwig's naked body, eyes glued on his swollen arousal.

Ludwig grabbed the bottle of lube and began spreading it on himself.

When he was done, he crawled forward and on top of Feliciano.

He looked down at him with lust filled eyes.

He then leaned down, capturing Feliciano's lips in a passionate kiss.

Feliciano wrapped his arms around Ludwig's neck and kissed back, letting Ludwig explore his mouth.

Ludwig then pulled away for some much needed air.

He then positioned himself at Feliciano's entrance.

He looked up at Feliciano to make sure that he was ok.

And with that, Ludwig pushed himself into Feliciano.

Feliciano gasped and moaned at the feeling of being filled up.

Ludwig groaned at the tightness of Feliciano's walls.

As he was being entered Feliciano clutched Ludwig's arms, moaning as Ludwig went deeper and deeper.

Finally, Ludwig was all the way inside Feliciano.

Panting, Ludwig looked down at Feliciano, waiting for permission to move.

When Feliciano caught his breath, he looked up at Ludwig and nodded. "O-Ok." Feliciano said.

Ludwig nodded and with that, he began thrusting in and out of Feliciano.

Feliciano moaned and Ludwig began to pick up speed, making a rhythm for himself.

Feliciano panted and held onto Ludwig's arms.

Ludwig began to ease into the rhythm as he thrusted.

On one thrust, Ludwig hit that spot inside Feliciano.

"_Ah_! Luddy!" Feliciano moaned out.

Ludwig smirked to himself and pulled out a bit, repositioned himself and slammed back into Feliciano, hitting his spot dead on.

"_Ngh_! _Ah_, Luddy!" Feliciano moaned, clutching Ludwig's arm tighter.

Ludwig then began pounding into Feliciano, hitting his spot on every single thrust, making Feliciano cry out in pleasure.

Ludwig smiled to himself. "It looks like I can still find it even after all this time." Ludwig said to himself.

"Ngh! Ahn…L-Luddy! I-ngh! Ahn! I-_a-ah_…hah!" Feliciano said, trying to form words.

Ludwig then leaned down and kissed Feliciano, passionately.

Feliciano moved his hands to Ludwig's shoulders, holding tightly.

When Ludwig pulled away, Feliciano pulled Ludwig in for another kiss and wrapped his arms around his neck.

Feliciano moaned into the kiss as Ludwig assaulted his mouth.

Their tongues wrestled for a short while before Ludwig tilted his head, deepening the kiss.

Feliciano moaned again when Ludwig pushed his tongue into his mouth.

Ludwig then pulled away and concentrated on thrusting.

He leaned into Feliciano's neck, grunting as he thrusted.

"Ah, Luddy! K-Keep going! R-Right there! Ngh! Ahn!" Feliciano moaned as he wrapped his arms around Ludwig's chest.

He also wrapped his legs around Ludwig's waist and grabbed fistfuls of blond hair.

Ludwig nibbled on Feliciano's neck as he pounded into him.

He grabbed Feliciano's hair and pulled his head back so he could have better access.

He nibbled on a sensitive spot on Feliciano's neck while also slamming into his spot.

"Ahn! Luddy! M-More! More! Hah…hah! Ngh…_ah_!" Feliciano moaned, clinging to Ludwig for dear life.

The sound of Feliciano's moaning filled Ludwig with sickening lust.

He pulled away from Feliciano and grabbed his hips.

Ludwig then began pounding into Feliciano even harder.

Feliciano began screaming and moaning in pleasure as Ludwig assaulted his spot.

Ludwig bucked his hips into Feliciano's, creating a skin on skin slapping noise.

Feliciano was thrashing about underneath Ludwig, hand gripping the sheet, tightly.

Ludwig noticed that he was messing up the sheets.

He grabbed Feliciano's arms and pinned them to his sides, by his wrists, still continuing to buck into him.

Ludwig held Feliciano down and pounded into him, grunting with each thrust.

Feliciano's mouth was wide open as moans spilled from it.

Ludwig looked down at Feliciano pinned down underneath him.

He looked absolutely helpless.

And there was something about seeing Feliciano pinned down as he pounded into him that made him all the more aroused.

He felt like he could do anything to him.

And that only made Ludwig want to fuck him even harder.

Ludwig growled with lust as he began to fuck Feliciano senseless, pounding into him roughly.

Feliciano moaned loudly, overcome with pleasure. "_Ahn_! L-Luddy, I can't! I c-can't-Ah! Ngh…hnngh! Hah…_ah_!" Feliciano moaned.

Ludwig leaned down. "You like that, don't you? You want more?" Ludwig asked, voice full of lust, into Feliciano's ear.

"_Ahn_, Luddy! D-Don't talk like that!" Feliciano moaned.

"Don't deny it! You _like_ it when I do this! Does it feel good when I do this to you?" Ludwig purred into Feliciano's ear.

Feliciano moaned as a response.

Ludwig chuckled. "Ja, that's what I thought. You _like_ it rough, don't you?" Ludwig asked.

"_Ngh_, L-Luddy!" Feliciano moaned.

"Feels good, doesn't it? You love it when I give it to you like this, don't you? Why_ else_ would you be moaning like this, so don't lie!" Ludwig said, hotly into Feliciano's ear.

As Ludwig pounded into Feliciano, he felt his release coming and he thrusted harder rushing towards his climax.

Feliciano then began panting heavily as he too, felt his release coming.

After a few more thrusts from Ludwig, Feliciano's body shook.

"_AHN,_ Luddy! LUDDY!" Feliciano screamed as he came all over himself.

Ludwig thrusted a few more times, groaning as Feliciano's walls tightened around him.

He gave a few more thrusts until, he too, came.

He gave deep groan as he came violently inside of Feliciano.

Feliciano moaned as he felt Ludwig's hot seed spilling all over his insides.

Ludwig with thrusted deeply into Feliciano, riding out the last of his orgasm.

When he was done, he collapsed on top of Feliciano, spent.

They panted as they lay in a sweaty, tired heap.

Ludwig then grabbed Feliciano's face and kissed him softly on the lips.

He tilted his head as he deepened the kiss.

Feliciano moaned into the kiss and pulled Ludwig closer to him.

They made out for a while and after there were done, Ludwig pulled back, giving them some much needed air.

Ludwig then rolled off of Feliciano and onto his back.

He looked over at Feliciano who was still panting and rubbed his head.

"Luddy?" Feliciano called out.

"Ja?" Ludwig asked.

"A-Are we…ok?" Feliciano asked.

Ludwig rolled over onto his side, looking at Feliciano, who was looking down.

He put his hand on Feliciano's face and pulled it up so that their eyes met. "Of course we are. It's my fault that all this happened. If I would have listened to you, this wouldn't have happened. I'm so sorry, Feliciano. I'm sorry that I hurt you like I did. Can you please forgive me? I promise I'll make it up to you. _Please_!" Ludwig said.

"O-Ok. I forgive you." Feliciano said.

Ludwig smiled, gratefully and pulled Feliciano into a kiss.

"I forgive you…but it's gonna take a while, Luddy. I think you know that after what you said." Feliciano said.

Ludwig cringed at the memory of what he had said to Feliciano in an angry rage.

"J-Ja…I know." Ludwig said, knowingly.

Feliciano smiled softly. "Good. Thank you for saving me, Luddy. I would have been dead if you hadn't come in time." Feliciano said, hugging Ludwig.

"Please…don't remind me of that." Ludwig said, hugging back.

"I'm sorry." Feliciano said.

Feliciano let go of Ludwig then and laid back.

Ludwig looked up at the ceiling for a while, arms folded behind his head.

He was unable to fall asleep after Feliciano reminded him of his near death.

He looked over to Feliciano who had fallen asleep.

He wrapped his arms around him as stroked his hair. "I'm sorry, Feliciano. I'm so sorry." Ludwig whispered into Feliciano's hair.

He then let Feliciano go and lay on his back again.

He continued staring up at the ceiling until his eyes roamed around.

They scanned the walls, going down, and down, and down.

Until they came to rest on the bullet hole.

Ludwig's heart jumped into his throat.

He swallowed thickly before getting up out of bed and walking over to the damaged wall.

He reached out a shaky hand and touched the wall.

They were pieces of dry was on the floor below.

He then walked to the doorway and peeked out.

He saw that the bullet had gone through the wall of his room and another wall in the hallway.

Who knew what other damage the bullet caused?

He'd have to call a contractor to come out and fix the damages.

"I'll call in the morning." Ludwig said to himself.

Ludwig walked back to the bed and lay back down.

He pulled Feliciano close to him and held him protectively.

"I'm so sorry, Feliciano. I'm sorry." Ludwig whispered, before he finally fell asleep.

In the morning, Ludwig awoke to the smell of cooking.

He looked at the clock and his eyes widened.

He had overslept!

More than usual on a day off, anyway.

And so getting up and putting his clothes on, he went downstairs and saw Feliciano cooking.

Feliciano noticed him and smiled. "Good morning, Luddy!" Feliciano said.

"Feliciano?" Ludwig asked, rubbing his eyes. "When did you get up?"

"Oh, I've been up for a while now." Feliciano said.

"What? Und why didn't you wake me up?" Ludwig asked.

"Because you looked so peaceful!" Feliciano said. "And plus, I wanted to make you something to eat!"

Ludwig blushed. "Wh-What? You made me something?" Ludwig asked.

Feliciano giggled. "Yep!" Feliciano said, cheerfully as he walked up to Ludwig and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I made you breakfast!"

Ludwig looked at the spread that Feliciano had set out.

It looked delicious.

"Come on, Luddy, sit down and eat!" Feliciano said.

They ate breakfast together and talked with each other like they had done in the past.

It was like nothing bad had ever happened between them.

Something that Ludwig wished had never been disturbed in the first place.

After they got done eating, they went into the living room and watched TV.

After watching for a while, Ludwig excused himself. "I need to make a phone call. Watch whatever you want." Ludwig said, walking towards the hallway.

"Ok, Luddy! Hurry back!" Feliciano called after Ludwig.

"I will." Ludwig called back.

And with that, Ludwig walked out into the hallway and up the stairs.

He walked into his room and closed the door so that Feliciano wouldn't hear him talking about the bullet hole damages.

He took out his cell phone and dialed a number.

He held it to his ear as the phone started ringing.

It rang a few times before someone picked up.

"Gilbert's Contracting. You break it, we fix it, how may I help you?" came a voice.

"U-Um, Gilbert? I need to talk to you can you do me a favor?" Ludwig asked.

"Oh, West, how are ya? Sure I can! What do you need?" Gilbert asked.

"I, uh…I need you to come take a look at something. It needs fixing." Ludwig said.

"Oh, sure, no problem! I'll try to do it as fast as I can!" Gilbert said.

"Um, c-can you do it today?" Ludwig asked.

"Well, I'm kinda booked solid here for a while. Und we don't do any consultations for a few days what with all the other stuff going on." Gilbert said.

"Oh." Ludwig said, dejected.

"But, since it's for you, I'll make an exception. I _am_ the owner after all! I'll just get someone else to do the other jobs." Gilbert said.

"Oh, thank you so much." Ludwig said, sighing in relief.

"Uh, West, are you alright? You don't usually break anything. Is something the matter?" Gilbert asked.

"Uh, nein, I'm alright. Just glad is all." Ludwig said.

"Oh. Alright, well, I'll see you later then." Gilbert said.

"Ok, I'll see you when you get then. Goodbye." Ludwig said.

"Later." Gilbert said.

And with that, Ludwig hung up the phone.

He sighed and sat on the bed for a while, head in his hands.

He didn't know if he could face Feliciano again.

But he would have to go downstairs to answer the door anyway when Gilbert arrived.

Ludwig had to mentally prepare himself before he walked out of the room and back into the living room.

Feliciano was still watching TV. "Oh, Luddy, you're back! That was a long phone call. Is everything ok?" Feliciano asked.

"Uh, ja. Everything is fine." Ludwig said, trying to smile as he sat down next to Feliciano. "Just fine."

Ludwig wrapped an arm around Feliciano and pulled him close.

Feliciano instinctively wrapped his arm around Ludwig and huddled into his side.

They watched TV for a few hours before the doorbell finally rang.

"I'll get it." Ludwig said, getting up and rushing to the door.

When he opened the door, he saw a smiling Gilbert.

"Hey, West! What's up?" Gilbert asked.

Ludwig sighed. "Gilbert, I've asked you to stop calling me that." Ludwig said.

"What, I can't have a little nickname for my little brother?" Gilbert asked.

Ludwig groaned. "Whatever, just come in." Ludwig said, backing up to make way for Gilbert.

"Gladly." Gilbert said, smiling and walking forward.

Ludwig closed the door as Gilbert came in.

He was about to lead Gilbert upstairs when Gilbert stopped.

"Hey, nice place ya got here, West." Gilbert said, looking around. "It's really changed a lot since I lived here."

"Ja, thanks. Now, are you going follow me or make friends with the paneling?" Ludwig asked.

Gilbert chuckled. "Alright. So, where's the damage? I'll see what its looks like and then I'll bring the materials tomorrow." Gilbert said.

"Alright. It's this way." Ludwig said, walking towards the steps.

As they passed by the living room, Feliciano noticed them and turned his head towards them and saw Gilbert. "Oh, Gilby, when did you get here? Luddy never told me we'd have company!" Feliciano said.

"Hey, Feliciano, how are ya?" Gilbert asked.

"I'm fine. Oh, can I get you anything? How rude of me." Feliciano said.

"Oh, I'm good. West just called me over here so that I can fi-" Gilbert said, before Ludwig clapped a hand over his mouth, silencing him.

He struggled in Ludwig's grip and Ludwig laughed nervously. "Oh, nothing. I just called him over so I can show him something. Ja, that's right. I need to show him something. Right now. Let's go, Gilbert." Ludwig said, pulling Gilbert up the stairs.

Feliciano tilted his head in confusion. "Well, ok, Luddy. I'll see you when you get back." Feliciano called after Ludwig. "And Gilby, don't hesitate to ask for anything!"

Gilbert just nodded behind Ludwig's hand.

And with that Feliciano walked back into the living room and sat back down in front of the TV.

Ludwig sighed in relief and let go of Gilbert.

Gilbert gasped and tried to catch his breath. "Hey, what'd you do that for, West? I couldn't breathe!" Gilbert said.

Ludwig scoffed. "Whatever. It's not like I covered your nose too." Ludwig said.

"So, what'd you do that for anyway?" Gilbert asked.

"Because I didn't want you to remind him." Ludwig said, turning away.

"Huh? Remind who of what?" Gilbert asked.

"You'll see." Ludwig said.

And with that, Ludwig continued leading Gilbert upstairs.

And as he did, Gilbert couldn't help but chuckle.

"What are you laughing at?" Ludwig asked.

"Nothing, it's just that your boyfriend's awfully sweet. It's giving me diabetes." Gilbert said.

"What do you mean?" Ludwig asked.

"Oh, Luddy! Oh, Gilby!" Gilbert said, mocking Feliciano. "Boy, you sure know how to pick 'em, don't you West?"

"Shut up!" Ludwig said, curtly.

Gilbert laughed.

And with that, they finally reached the second floor.

"It's in my room." Ludwig said.

"Alright." Gilbert said, following Ludwig into his room.

When they got into the room, Ludwig stood in the center and pointed at the bullet hole. "It's right there." Ludwig said.

Gilbert looked at it and knelt down, inspecting the damage.

His eyebrow cocked in confusion.

"Wow, West, what happened? Did you get mad or something?" Gilbert asked.

"Nein. It's nothing like that." Ludwig said.

"Then what is it?" Gilbert asked.

"It's a…i-it's a…it's…" Ludwig trailed off, not able to finish the sentence.

Gilbert eyed Ludwig for a second.

And then his eyes widened.

"Oh, Gott, don't tell me!" Gilbert said, shocked.

Ludwig looked up and Gilbert and nodded.

"West, is this a glory hole?" Gilbert asked, cautiously.

Ludwig froze and stared at Gilbert in disbelief.

"It is, isn't it? Oh, come on, West, don't make him do that, he's so innocent! I mean, I know you're freaky, but I didn't think you were _that_ freaky! Poor kid." Gilbert said, shaking his head.

"Wh-What?! N-Nein, you dummkopf!" Ludwig yelled, blushing a deep red. "It's _nothing_ like that!"

"Then what is it?" Gilbert asked.

"It's a…bullet hole." Ludwig said, lowly.

Gilbert's eyes widened "Wh-What?! A-A bullet hole?! West, what did you do?!" Gilbert asked.

"Nein, i-it wasn't me." Ludwig said.

"Then what happened?" Gilbert asked.

Ludwig took a breath. "Feliciano…tried to kill himself." Ludwig said.

Gilbert's heart raced as he struggled to hear. "_Wh-What_?" Gilbert said, trying to speak.

"He…tried to kill himself." Ludwig repeated.

"But why?!" Gilbert asked.

"It was after I broke up with him. He changed somehow und when I found him in mein house, he had mein gun to his head." Ludwig said.

Gilbert groaned. "Oh, West, how could you be so irresponsible?!" Gilbert yelled.

"Hey, it wasn't my fault! I didn't think he'd get into the house. Let alone find mein gun!" Ludwig yelled back.

Gilbert sighed. "You should have hidden it in a better place, West. That was really dangerous. Und really close too. You're lucky you got there in time." Gilbert said.

"Ja, I know." Ludwig said.

They both fell silent for a while.

Ludwig then spoke up.

"S-So, can you fix it?" Ludwig asked.

"Ja, I can. I just need to fill it up, paint over it, und it'll be good as new." Gilbert said, inspecting the hole.

"There's another one in the hallway too." Ludwig said.

"Where is it?" Gilbert asked.

Ludwig led Gilbert to the hall and showed him the other bullet hole. "Right there." Ludwig said.

"Is this the only other one?" Gilbert asked.

"Ja, I think so." Ludwig replied.

"Alright. I'll fix this one too." Gilbert said.

"Thanks, Gilbert." Ludwig said.

Ludwig then walked back into his room, Gilbert following behind.

He then sat on the bed and held his head in his hands. "Oh, Gott, how could I have been so _stupid_?! Why didn't I listen to him?!" Ludwig asked.

Gilbert sat down next to him. "West? How did all this happen?" Gilbert asked.

"I…thought he was cheating on me und I broke up with him. He tried to tell me, but I wouldn't listen." Ludwig said.

"Well, was he?" Gilbert asked.

Ludwig shook his head. "Nein…he wasn't. But by the time I figured it out, it was too late. After I found Feliciano, he had already been warped." Ludwig said.

Gilbert rested a hand on Ludwig's shoulder.

"Well, just be happy you found him in time." Gilbert said, trying to comfort Ludwig.

"We struggled for the gun und it went off. That's how the holes got there. I'm just glad neither of us were hurt." Ludwig said.

Gilbert squeezed Ludwig's shoulder. "Me too." Gilbert said.

Ludwig heaved a shaky sigh.

"Gottverdammt, why didn't I listen?! He looked so confused and hurt and I didn't _care_! Why? Why? _Why_?!" Ludwig asked, clutching his hair.

"Because you were mad, West." Gilbert supplied. "You never listen when you're mad. I know that from experience."

"Ja, but…I should have at least _tried_!" Ludwig said.

Gilbert pulled Ludwig into an embrace. "Well, just be happy." Gilbert said.

"What do you mean?" Ludwig asked.

"Be happy that you have another chance to try. Now, you know what to do. Und if that meant having Feliciano almost die, then so be it. At least you know what to do from now on." Gilbert said.

"Ja…" Ludwig said, before falling silent.

Gilbert then let go of Ludwig. "Well, I gotta go. That hole's not gonna fix itself." Gilbert said, getting up.

"Thanks Gilbert." Ludwig said.

"Hey, no problem. Anything for you, West." Gilbert said. "I'll be back tomorrow and fix the holes."

"Alright." Ludwig said.

And with that, they headed downstairs and to the front door.

Ludwig opened the front door and Gilbert walked outside.

Feliciano then came up behind Ludwig. "Wait, Gilby, why are you leaving so soon? You weren't here for that long! Why don't you stay for dinner?" Feliciano asked. "Luddy, we can have him for dinner, can't we?"

Gilbert gave Ludwig a sly smile that made him blush.

Ludwig narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

"Sorry, Feliciano, but as much as I would like to, I gotta go. Just have dinner with _Luddy_. You'll be fine!" Gilbert said, mocking Ludwig.

Ludwig blushed in embarrassment and gave Gilbert a look that said, 'will you please shut up already?!'

Laughing, Gilbert turned on his heel and walked down the steps.

Ludwig growled, annoyed and closed the door.

"Gilby's so nice, isn't he Luddy?" Feliciano asked.

"Ja, _real_ nice." Ludwig said, rolling his eyes.

Feliciano walked back into the living room and turned back to Ludwig. "So, are you ready for dinner?" Feliciano asked, hugging Ludwig.

"Ja." Ludwig said. "I'm starving."

Ludwig held Feliciano protectively.

Gilbert was right.

Thank God he had another chance.

Now that he did, he promised that he'd never let anything happen to Feliciano again.

Gilbert came the next day and fixed the holes, all the while teasing Ludwig every time Feliciano called either of them "Luddy" or "Gilby".

"W-Will you just shut up about that?!" Ludwig asked, face red.

Gilbert laughed. "I'm sorry, West, but I just can't! I never imagined you'd be one for pet names!" Gilbert said.

"Well, what about _you_?! Yours isn't much better than mine!" Ludwig yelled.

Gilbert just shrugged it off. "Eh, he made it up! I have no control over that. Plus, it doesn't bother me when people call attention to it. _You_, on the other hand…" Gilbert trailed off, going into another laughing fit.

Ludwig growled, face burning from embarrassment.

When Gilbert was finally done, teasing Ludwig among other things, he began gathering up his equipment.

"Thanks, Gilbert. How much do I owe you?" Ludwig asked.

"Oh, nein, don't worry about it. This one's free of charge. It was my pleasure, West." Gilbert said holding up a hand.

"But how can I repay you? I need to repay you somehow after all you've done." Ludwig said.

"Fine, you wanna know how you can pay me back?" Gilbert asked.

Ludwig nodded.

"The payback, West, is that you take better care of Feliciano." Gilbert said, looking directly at Ludwig. "You almost lost him once, so you better be careful not to fuck up this time. Can you do that?"

"Ja…I can. I promise." Ludwig said.

"Good." Gilbert said, smiling. "Now, I'll see you later. Und be more responsible."

"Ja…goodbye." Ludwig said. "Und thank you so much."

"No problem. Take care of Feliciano and yourself…_Luddy_." Gilbert said, before laughing loudly. "_Man_, that never gets old!"

Ludwig's hands balled into fists.

He slammed the front door, annoyed and walked back into the living room.

Feliciano fell asleep while watching TV.

Ludwig sat down beside him and wrapped his arm around him, waking him up.

"Luddy? Did Gilby leave?" Feliciano asked.

Ludwig blushed. "J-Ja. He left." Ludwig said.

"Oh." Feliciano said, simply before laying his head back on Ludwig's shoulder.

That night when it was time to go to bed, Ludwig led Feliciano up to the bedroom.

And like before, Feliciano stopped in his tracks and refused to go in.

"No, Luddy, I told you I don't want to go in there again!" Feliciano cried.

"Nein, it's ok, Feliciano." Ludwig said, pulling Feliciano into a hug.

"Luddy, please." Feliciano said, softly.

"Don't worry, Feliciano. It's alright. Here, I want to show you something." Ludwig said, pulling Feliciano into the room.

Feliciano whimpered, but Ludwig put his hands over his eyes.

"L-Luddy, wh-what's going on?" Feliciano asked.

"Just wait." Ludwig said, leading Feliciano to the fixed wall.

When they were in front of it, Ludwig took his hands away.

Feliciano looked at the wall, confused. "Luddy? I don't get it. What are we looking at?" Feliciano asked.

"Notice anything different?" Ludwig asked.

Feliciano scanned the wall. "No?" Feliciano asked, confused.

"Are you sure?" Ludwig asked.

Feliciano continued looking at the wall.

Then his eyes widened. "The hole. I-It's gone!" Feliciano said.

"Ja." Ludwig said, hugging Feliciano from behind.

Feliciano turned around. "Y-You fixed it?" Feliciano asked.

"Ja." Ludwig said, smiling.

"So, is that why Gilby came over here?" Feliciano asked.

"Ja, I called him over so that he could fix it. I know how much it bothered you seeing the hole, so I had it fixed." Ludwig said.

Feliciano wrapped his arms around Ludwig's neck. "Oh, Luddy, thank you so much!" Feliciano said. "I can't believe you went through all this trouble just for me!"

Ludwig held Feliciano tighter. "Well, I just couldn't see you like that anymore. It was my fault all this happened in the first place. So, I had to do something." Ludwig said.

"Oh, Luddy, I love you." Feliciano said.

Ludwig paused and then swallowed. "I love you too." Ludwig said, trying to keep his composure.

Feliciano then pulled back and kissed Ludwig on the lips.

Ludwig leaned down a bit so that Feliciano wouldn't be on the tips of his toes.

After they pulled away from each other, they began getting ready for bed.

When they got into bed, Ludwig wrapped an arm around Feliciano and pulled him close.

He gave him a kiss on the forehead before they both fell asleep.

They slept like that, Feliciano in Ludwig's arms, for the rest of the night.

Yep, just like old times.

In the morning, Feliciano woke up.

He saw Ludwig still asleep.

He kissed him on the forehead and snuck out of bed.

He went downstairs and began making breakfast.

A short while later, he felt a pair of strong arms wrap around him and he yelped in surprise.

"You should have woken me up." Ludwig said into Feliciano's ear.

"Oh! Luddy, I didn't hear you come in. I'm sorry. I just couldn't wake you up. You looked so tired." Feliciano said.

Ludwig kissed Feliciano on the cheek and then the neck.

"It's ok. I needed the extra sleep anyways." Ludwig said.

Feliciano giggled. "I hope you're hungry." Feliciano said, turning off the fire from underneath a skillet.

"Very." Ludwig said.

"Good, because I made a little too much." Feliciano admitted.

Ludwig chuckled. "You do that all the time. You're going to make me fat with the way you're cooking." Ludwig said.

"That doesn't stop you from eating." Feliciano said back.

"I suppose it doesn't." Ludwig said.

They sat down and ate together in peace.

Ludwig looked up at Feliciano who was eating with a smile on his face.

"Hey, Feliciano?" Ludwig called out.

"Yes, Luddy? What do you want? Do you need something?" Feliciano asked.

"Nein." Ludwig said.

"Then what?" Feliciano asked.

"Let's do something. Let's go out today." Ludwig said.

"Go out? And do what?" Feliciano asked.

"You know…like a…date." Ludwig said, blushing. "I still want to make it up to you after…well, you know."

Feliciano giggled. "Luddy, you're so cute when you blush like that!" Feliciano said.

Ludwig blushed even more. "S-So? Wh-What do you say?" Ludwig asked, looking away.

Feliciano smiled. "Ok. But you have to buy me whatever I want." Feliciano said.

Ludwig looked back at Feliciano. "A-Alright." Ludwig said.

Feliciano giggled. "Alright. It's a _date_!" Feliciano said.

"Ja. A date." Ludwig said.

Feliciano smiled and nodded.

Ludwig sighed in relief and resumed eating.

After they got done eating, they got ready to go out on their date.

As they walked outside, Ludwig vowed to make this the best date they've ever been on and to take better care of Feliciano from now on.

When they were on their date, Ludwig remembered what Lovino told him.

"F-Feliciano?" Ludwig called out.

"Yes, Luddy?" Feliciano asked.

Ludwig paused for a minute, not sure if he should tell Feliciano or not.

But deciding that it would be better to, Ludwig spoke up.

"Luddy? What's wrong?" Feliciano asked.

"I-I need to tell you something." Ludwig said.

* * *

"Where are you taking me, you bastard?" Lovino yelled.

"Relax, Lovi, it's just a little farther." Antonio called back.

"But, we've been walking _forever_!" Lovino yelled.

Antonio laughed. "We're almost there, Lovi." Antonio said.

Lovino growled in agitation.

Antonio had told him that he had a surprise for him.

But all he felt right now were his legs on fire.

Damn Antonio.

And as they walked, Lovino began to notice his surroundings.

They were starting to become familiar.

There were now trees beginning to surround them

Wait.

Were they going to their spot?

Lovino looked around again.

They were walking through the forest.

Yeah, they were.

But that's weird.

Lovino had never taken this route to their spot before.

"Toni? Where are we going?" Lovino asked.

"Just wait, Lovi. You'll see soon enough." Antonio sang back.

"Dammit, you asshole why don't you just tell me?!" Lovino asked.

"Because it's a surprise, Lovi!" Antonio said.

Lovino just groaned as Antonio pulled him along by the arm.

They walked through the forest before they saw a clearing up ahead.

As they got closer, Lovino saw that they were going to their spot.

He _knew_ it!

But what was the surprise that Antonio was talking about.

He'd just have to wait and see.

A few minutes later, they came out into the clearing.

Lovino looked around and didn't see anything.

"Ok, so where's the surprise, you bastard? Or did you just lead me here for nothing?" Lovino asked.

"Not nothing, Lovi. Look." Antonio said, motioning to something.

Lovino looked to where Antonio was pointing and he saw something lying on the ground.

He narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what it was.

As he studied it, he saw that it was a picnic blanket.

He also saw something lying on top of it.

"Come on, Lovi, let's go." Antonio said, pulling Lovino along by the arm.

When they got to the picnic blanket, Antonio sat down Lovino down and sat down across from him.

Lovino looked down at what was lying between them.

It was a guitar.

He looked up at Antonio eyebrow cocked in confusion.

Antonio was smiling back at him.

"It's a guitar." Lovino said.

"Yeah!" Antonio said, picking it up.

Lovino's eyes widened. "Y-You play the guitar?!" Lovino asked, shocked.

"Yep!" Antonio said, as he tuned the instrument.

Lovino then froze.

Wait.

What was Antonio thinking?

Lovino watched as Antonio began strumming out a tune.

Lovino rolled his eyes. 'Oh, God, don't tell me he's going to play for me.' Lovino thought to himself.

Lovino watched Antonio with crossed arms and narrowed eyes.

Antonio then began to sing as he strummed the guitar:

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine  
You make me happy when skies are grey  
You never know, dear, how much I love you  
Please don't take my sunshine away."

'Oh, God, don't tell me he's singing to me. Is he really doing this?' Lovino thought to himself.

"The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping  
I dreamt I held you in my arms  
When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken  
So I hung my head, and I cried."

Lovino's heart then started racing and he bit his lip, trying to contain himself. "I-If you think this is gonna work, y-you got another thing coming!" Lovino said.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine  
You make me happy when skies are grey  
You never know, dear, how much I love you  
Please don't take my sunshine away."

Lovino then turned his head to the side and he started to tear up. "St-Stop it, Toni." Lovino said, voice breaking.

But Antonio continued singing:

"I'll always love you and make you happy  
If you will only say the same  
But if you leave me to love another,  
You'll regret it all one day."

"P-Please, T-Toni, st-stop it! I-I'm serious!" Lovino said, tears now flowing down his cheeks.

He wouldn't look at Antonio.

Antonio used the head of the guitar to turn Lovino's head back towards him, still strumming.

Lovino looked at Antonio with tear filled eyes and Antonio continued to sing:

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine  
You make me happy when skies are grey  
You never know, dear, how much I love you  
Please don't take my sunshine away."

Lovino couldn't control the tears coming out of his eyes and he looked with shock at Antonio.

Antonio continued to sing until he finally concluded the song:

"Please don't take my sunshine away  
Please don't take my sunshine away  
Please don't take my sunshine away  
Please don't take my sunshine away."

When Antonio was done playing, he sat the guitar down and he smiled at Lovino.

Lovino continued staring at Antonio, taken aback by the song.

"I love you, Lovi." Antonio said, happily.

And it was then that Lovino lost it.

He began sobbing, hands gripping the legs of his pants.

Antonio leaned forward and brought Lovino into an embrace.

Lovino sobbed and clutched Antonio's shirt.

Antonio stroked Lovino's head.

"Y-You st-stupid b-bastard! I-I told you to stop!" Lovino sobbed.

"I didn't want to stop, Lovi. I wanted you to know how I really felt." Antonio said, squeezing Lovino tighter.

Lovino sniffled and sobbed into Antonio's shirt.

"St-Stupid b-bastard!" Lovino sobbed.

"There, there, Lovi. Calm down." Antonio said.

Lovino sniffled.

Antonio held Lovino until he stopped crying.

Antonio then pulled away from Lovino.

He still had tears rolling down his cheeks.

He then pulled Lovino into a kiss.

Lovino wrapped his arms around Antonio's neck and kissed back.

Antonio kissed back harder and fell over on top of Lovino.

Lovino looked up at Antonio, blushing.

Antonio then leaned down and kissed Lovino again.

Lovino wrapped his arms around Antonio's neck again and let him explore his mouth.

Lovino moaned into the kiss as Antonio's tongue massaged the inside of his mouth.

They made out for a while until Antonio pulled away for some much needed air.

They sat together in short silence before Antonio spoke up.

"Alright, Lovi, let's go. I'm sure you're worried about your brother. Shall we go to your house and see if he's there?" Antonio asked, standing up.

"Ok." Lovino said, softly.

Antonio reached a hand down towards Lovino, offering to pull him up.

Lovino took it and Antonio helped him up.

Antonio gathered up the blanket and guitar.

"Ready to go, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah." Lovino said.

And with that, they began walking towards the forest.

As they were walking, Lovino looked at Antonio and blushed.

He couldn't believe that he sang to him.

He saw his hand by his side as he walked.

He held the blanket and guitar in one arm, so that meant that his other hand was free.

And so, reaching out his arm, Lovino grabbed Antonio's hand.

Antonio looked down at the sudden pressure and smiled when he saw Lovino holding his hand.

He smiled and squeezed back.

They walked hand in hand as they made their way closer and closer to the city.

When they came out of the forest, Antonio spoke up.

"Hold on, Lovi. Let me drop this stuff off at my house. Then, we can go to your house, ok?" Antonio asked.

"Alright." Lovino said.

And with that, they began walking towards Antonio's house.

As they made their way to his house, Lovino heard something.

It sounded familiar.

And then it happened.

The sound got louder as they rounded the corner.

"Oh, Feli, I love you so much!" Ludwig said.

"L-Luddy, stop it! We're in public! People are staring!" Feliciano said, blushing as he tried pushing Ludwig away.

"But I almost lost you once, I don't want to lose you again. I want you to know how much I love you!" Ludwig said, smiling.

"B-But, Luddy, you don't have to do that!" Feliciano said.

"But, I _want_ to!" Ludwig said. "It's a way of making it up to you."

Lovino's eyes widened. "Oh no!" Lovino said, hiding behind Antonio.

"What is it, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

"I-It's Feliciano!" Lovino said.

"Feliciano? Wait, you mean your brother? Oooh, where?!" Antonio asked, excitedly.

"Th-There." Lovino said, pointing.

"Huh? Whoa, Lovi, he looks just like you!" Antonio said.

Lovino scoffed. "Not _that_ much." Lovino said.

"Yeah…his hair is lighter that yours." Antonio said.

"That's not the _only_ difference!" Lovino said.

"Huh? Really? I can't see anymore." Antonio said, looking at Feliciano.

Lovino scoffed. "Stupid." Lovino said.

"And is that his boyfriend?" Antonio asked, looking at Ludwig.

"Yeah." Lovino said. "He's the one I told to find Feliciano."

"Wow, he sure is tall." Antonio said. "So, since there over there, should we go over and say hi?" Antonio asked.

"No!" Lovino yelled, pulling Antonio back.

"Why not, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

"B-Because…I-I don't think I'm ready to face him yet. C-Can we just go to your house?" Lovino said.

"Sure, Lovi." Antonio said, understanding.

And with that, they walked down the street, careful of not being seen.

They arrived at Antonio's house.

They didn't stay for very long since Antonio only had a few things to put up.

"Ready, Lovi? Antonio asked, turning to Lovino.

"Yeah." Lovino said.

"We can take my car so we don't have to walk." Antonio said. "Are you sure you're ready for this, Lovi?"

"Y-Yeah. I-I'm ready." Lovino said.

And with that, they got into Antonio's car and set off towards Lovino's house.

On the way there, as Lovino looked out of the window, he didn't see Feliciano and Ludwig anywhere.

That must have meant that they were already at Lovino's house.

Lovino took a deep breath to steady himself.

They got closer and closer to Lovino's house.

And soon, they were in front on his house.

Antonio shut the car off and looked at Lovino.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Lovi?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah. I do. This needs to be done. If I don't, then I'll regret it for the rest of my life." Lovino said.

"Ok, Lovi. But remember, I'll be here for you." Antonio said.

"I know." Lovino said.

And with that, Lovino got out of the car and went up the stairs, Antonio following after him.

When Lovino finally got to the door, he reached out towards the door with a shaky hand.

Giving another deep breath, he twisted the knob and opened the door.

He saw Feliciano walking into the living room and he heaved a great sigh of relief.

Feliciano heard him and looked in his direction. "Oh, Lovino." Feliciano said.

"Oh, God, Feliciano!" Lovino yelled, running towards Feliciano. "Thank God, you're ok!"

Lovino ran into Feliciano and wrapped his arms around him.

Feliciano grunted as Lovino crashed into him.

"Whoa, L-Lovino, what's wrong?" Feliciano asked.

"I'm sorry Feliciano! I'm so sorry!" Lovino sobbed.

"Huh? Sorry for what?" Feliciano asked.

Lovino sniffled. "It was me! I-It was me all along! I'm the reason why you guys broke up! I was so jealous of your relationship, I sabotaged it! I wrote a note with a fake letter and hid it in your drawer! I forgot about it and when it all happened, I was so confused. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! Can you please forgive me? I'm the reason this all happened in the first place!" Lovino cried.

Feliciano paused. "I know." Feliciano said, simply.

Lovino stopped and looked up at Feliciano, tears still in his eyes. "Wh-What?" Lovino asked.

"I said I already know. Luddy told me." Feliciano said, motioning towards Ludwig.

Lovino looked over towards Ludwig.

Ludwig looked back at Lovino with an apologetic look on his face.

He then looked back at Feliciano. "Please forgive me. I'm so sorry, Feliciano." Lovino said, resting head on Feliciano's shoulder.

"No." Feliciano said. "_I'm_ the one who should be sorry."

"What?" Lovino asked, looking at Feliciano.

"I said that I'm the one who should be sorry." Feliciano said, repeating himself.

"But why? It's _my _fault you guys broke up in the first place! What do _you_ have to apologize for?" Lovino asked.

"I was the one flirting with Luddy so much. I kept doing it even though you didn't like it. If I hadn't showed off my relationship so much, you wouldn't have done all that." Feliciano said. "It's also my fault for not asking you how you felt about it. Especially, when I was planning to move in with Luddy. I was just so happy, that I didn't even bother to ask you what you thought about it. Even though you said I could, I didn't even ask for a second opinion.

"I knew that you were happy about it and I didn't want to take that from you. I did start getting second thoughts, but by the time I wanted to change my mind, you were already moving out." Lovino said.

"And it's not just that." Feliciano said, softly.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Lovino asked.

"It's not just that. It's more…" Feliciano said, looking down.

"What are you talking about?" Lovino asked.

"I've done that to you for so long…s-so long." Feliciano said, voice breaking.

"What do you mean?" Lovino asked.

"I've done that for as long as I can remember. Ever since we were little, I've been doing that to you. I've always done things without asking you how you felt about it! I never even bothered." Feliciano said.

"When have you done that? I don't remember." Lovino said.

Feliciano paused before speaking up. "R-Remember when we used to live with Grandpa?" Feliciano said.

Lovino nodded. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Remember how he used to play with me? And all that time he spent with me?" Feliciano asked.

"Yeah." Lovino said.

"I noticed that he never spent as much time with you as he did me. Never played with you as much." Feliciano said.

"Yeah. I remember." Lovino said.

"He never even paid attention to you when I was around. I was his _favorite_. He never said so, but I could tell. It wasn't right! It wasn't right, and I never said a _word_ about it! I was too occupied with having fun that I didn't see that it hurt you!" Feliciano said.

"Feliciano, it's ok. That was in the past." Lovino said.

"No, it's not ok! I hurt you, Lovino! I hurt you more than you ever hurt me! That note was _nothing_ compared to years of neglect! Grandpa was supposed to love us both equally, but he favored me over you!" Feliciano yelled.

"Feliciano, that's not true." Lovino said.

"Yes it is, Lovino, and _you_ of all people should know that! Why do you think Grandpa got me everything I wanted and got you nothing?! The only reason he got you things was because he was _obligated_ to! And even _then_, I got better stuff! I hurt you without even realizing it. I don't even remember sharing with you…I bet you hated me for all those years. _I _would! And I wouldn't blame you." Feliciano said. "I deserved to be hurt by you."

"No, Feliciano, I didn't hate you. I mean, I was mad, but I _never_ hated you. I was jealous of the way Grandpa treated you. I was invisible to him whenever you were around." Lovino said.

"And then there was that one day. The one day that made me regret it from then on." Feliciano said.

"What day?" Lovino asked.

"You know. Remember that day where we painted with Grandpa?" Feliciano said.

Lovino's eyes widened. "Yeah." Lovino said, looking away.

"He was just humoring us, I know, but I still wanted to paint. It looked like fun, so I wanted to try it." Feliciano said. "When we were done, I showed him mine, but yours…when you showed him yours…he didn't care. He only looked at it. He liked mine, but he didn't even look twice at yours. But I wasn't even focused on that. I just liked when Grandpa praised me."

"It's ok, Feliciano. I'm over that now." Lovino said.

"No, you're not, Lovino. I can tell you're still hurt by that. You may have gotten over that, but not what happened after that." Feliciano said. "You remember the big deal that Grandpa made about it? You know, when he brought all of his friends over just to look at my painting?"

"Yeah, I remember." Lovino said.

"And you remember when he called me his 'little da Vinci'?" Feliciano said, before giving a humorless laugh. "You know, it's funny. Back then, I didn't see anything wrong with that. He compared me to a great artist even though I had no idea what I was doing. I just splattered colors on a blank canvas. And I also remember when someone asked what _your_ painting was. He didn't know it was yours, but he still asked what it was."

Lovino looked at Feliciano, knowing where he was going. "Feliciano." Lovino said.

"When somebody asked what your painting was, Grandpa just looked at it and said, 'Oh, that? Ah, don't worry about that. It's just Lovino's, it's no big deal.' I remember it perfectly clear. I saw the look on your face. And I didn't even comfort you. I was supposed to…but I didn't! I just shrugged it off like it was nothing! And when he told you to paint like me? I remember that too. You have every right to hate me, Lovino. Grandpa hurt you. _I_ hurt you. And I just _let _it happen!" Feliciano said.

"Feliciano, stop. I know what you did, but that was then, this is now." Lovino said.

Feliciano looked at Lovino. "Yes, that may be, but that doesn't mean that your past can't follow you! You're right, what's done is done. It may be in the past, but it'll always be a part of our lives. The only thing we can do about it is own up to it." Feliciano said.

"Feliciano." Lovino said.

"You know, I also remember my toys breaking. Having Grandpa yelling at me. He yelled at me for having broken toys lying around. That was you, wasn't it? I remember when he gave your toys to me. He said he'd buy you new ones, but he never did, did he? And most of all, I remember the painting. You know, the one Grandpa had been working on? The one that got messed up? That was you too, wasn't it, Lovino?" Feliciano asked. "I know it and you know it, Lovino. But you know what? That's ok. It's ok, Lovino. I deserved it. I deserved it for hurting you like I did."

Lovino's eyes widened. "Oh, God. You mean he found out?" Lovino asked.

Feliciano smiled. "Yeah. He did. I don't blame you at all, Lovino. I'd do it too. It was my fault you were so jealous. It was my punishment. Man, he yelled at me like you wouldn't believe." Feliciano said.

"Oh, my God, I'm sorry, Feliciano." Lovino said.

"Don't apologize, Lovino. _I'm _the one who needs to apologize. So, _I'm _sorry, Lovino. I just…I just hope you forgive me. For everything I've done…" Feliciano said. "For making your life miserable, Lovino, I'm so sorry…"

Feliciano then began crying.

Lovino held Feliciano, trying to comfort him. "Wow, it turns out we both fucked each other up, huh?" Lovino asked, trying to smile.

Feliciano sniffled. "Yeah. I guess we did." Feliciano said.

Lovino held Feliciano. "It's ok, Feliciano." Lovino said.

Feliciano pulled away and wiped away his tears. "Thanks, Lovino." Feliciano said, smiling.

"Wow, we really had a lot on our chests, didn't we? It feels good to finally let it all out." Lovino said.

"Yeah. It does." Feliciano said.

Lovino then turned to Ludwig and walked over to him. "Thank you so much for saving my brother, Ludwig. I'm really grateful; thanks…I really mean it." Lovino said, smiling.

Ludwig was taken aback.

This was, of all the times that Lovino smiled at him, the most sincere smile that Lovino had ever given him.

"J-Ja. N-No problem, it was my pleasure." Ludwig said, coming out of his stupor.

"Uh, Lovino?" Feliciano called out. "Who is this?"

Lovino turned around and saw that Feliciano was looking at something.

Lovino walked back over to Feliciano and followed his gaze.

He saw that he was looking at Antonio.

Antonio was looking back with a sheepish smile on his face and waving back.

"Oh!" Lovino said, running forward and pulling Antonio further into the house. "Sorry, I forgot you were here!"

Lovino then turned back to Feliciano. "Feliciano, this is Toni-I mean…this is Antonio." Lovino said. "Antonio, this is my brother, Feliciano."

Antonio waved. "Hi." Antonio said.

"Hello." Feliciano said, smiling.

Lovino then turned to Ludwig. "Ludwig, this is Antonio. Antonio, this is Ludwig, Feliciano's boyfriend." Lovino said.

"Hello." Ludwig said, politely.

"Hi." Antonio said, smiling. "Wow, you sure are a tall guy."

Ludwig blushed. "Uh, j-ja. Th-Thanks." Ludwig said, rubbing the back of his head.

"So, Lovino, how long have you known each other?" Feliciano asked. "Is this the friend that you were always talking about?"

"Friend? I'm not his friend, I'm his bo-" Antonio said, before Lovino clapped his hand over his mouth.

"Uh, y-yeah! He's m-my friend! J-Just a friend!" Lovino said, laughing nervously.

Antonio then pulled Lovino's hand away from his mouth. "What? Friend? I'm not your friend, I'm your boyfriend, what are you talking about?" Antonio asked.

Lovino's jaw dropped.

He looked back at Feliciano and Ludwig who looked back, as shocked as Lovino.

Antonio tilted his head in confusion. "What's wrong?" Antonio asked, confused.

Feliciano was the first to speak and break the silence. "Wh-What? Lovino? You're his boyfriend?" Feliciano asked, shocked.

Antonio smiled and wrapped his arms around Lovino. "Yep! He's my Lovi, alright!" Antonio said, cheerfully.

Lovino froze in shock.

"L-Lovi?" Feliciano asked.

"Yep! And he calls me Toni!" Antonio said.

"Toni?" Ludwig asked.

"Yep!" Antonio said, happily.

Lovino came out of his frozen stupor and turned to Antonio. "Wh-What the hell did you say that for, you bastard?!" Lovino asked.

Antonio laughed. "Well, why not? They were gonna find out anyway." Antonio said.

"But, I didn't want them to find out _now_!" Lovino yelled.

"Eh, well, it's too late now." Antonio said.

Lovino growled.

"S-So, how did you guys meet?" Feliciano asked.

"Oh, we just happened to meet by chance! And after that, it was basically me just chasing after this guy." Antonio said. "Boy, it was really hard to woo this one, but I did it!"

Lovino's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"Wow, Lovino, I didn't know you had a boyfriend. When you said 'friend', I really thought you meant friend. I didn't know you meant _that_ kind of friend." Feliciano said, smiling.

"Oh, _shut _up, Feliciano!" Lovino yelled, blushing a deep red.

"Aw, Lovi, you're so cute when you blush! You look like a little tomato!" Antonio gushed.

"Shut up, bastard!" Lovino yelled.

Feliciano giggled. "Well, Antonio, it's nice to meet you!" Feliciano said, smiling.

"Ja, a real pleasure." Ludwig added in.

"And it was nice to meet you two!" Antonio said.

Lovino was still silent, face burning with embarrassment.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, did the two of you work things out? Lovi told me what was going on." Antonio said.

"Yeah, we did. We're back together now." Feliciano said, smiling at Ludwig.

"That's good!" Antonio said.

"Ja, I'm really glad." Ludwig said.

"And were you still thinking about moving in with him?" Antonio asked.

Feliciano looked at Ludwig then. "You know what, Luddy? I think I'm gonna stay with Lovino a little while longer. Just so he won't be by himself." Feliciano said.

Lovino looked up at Feliciano in shock.

He was confused.

But didn't Feliciano want to move him with Ludwig?

"Oh, I forgot to ask! Is that ok with you, Lovino?" Feliciano asked.

"Wh-What? But didn't you want to move in with Ludwig?" Lovino asked.

"No, that's ok. I know how much it hurt you when I was moving out. So, I'll stay with you so you won't be alone." Feliciano said, smiling. "Is that ok with you?"

Lovino paused for a second. "I…I-I don't know what to say." Lovino said.

Feliciano giggled. "Just say yes, Lovino! It's not that hard! I can tell you want me to stay with you anyway!" Feliciano said. "And besides, all my stuff is back here already!"

Lovino blushed slightly. "O-Ok then. Y-You can stay." Lovino said, softly.

Feliciano smiled and then turned to Ludwig. "Is that ok with you, Luddy? We won't live together, but you can still come over and visit like old times." Feliciano said.

"J-Ja, that's ok." Ludwig said. "As long as we're still together."

Feliciano smiled and turn to Antonio then. "And you too! We can all eat together! And it'll be fun!" Feliciano said, happily.

"Yeah, I can get used to that! It beats eating alone any day! Plus, I can be with my Lovi that way!" Antonio said.

"D-Don't call me that!" Lovino yelled, blushing.

"Aww, Lovi, you're so cute!" Antonio said, rubbing Lovino's head.

Feliciano eyes widened then, an idea forming in his head. "Oh, I know! Why don't you stay for dinner?!" Feliciano asked, smiling at Antonio.

"Sure!" Antonio said.

"Yay!" Feliciano cheered. "To celebrate our relationships, I'll make us a big dinner! The more the merrier!"

Feliciano then ambled off to the kitchen, getting ready to make dinner.

"Well, Lovi. Looks like it all worked out, huh? See, now the both of you can be happy! That's better than one or the other, right?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah. I guess it is." Lovino said, smiling. "I'm gonna go help Feliciano."

"Ok, Lovi." Antonio said as he watched Lovino walk off into the kitchen.

"We sure know how to pick them, don't we?" Ludwig asked.

Antonio laughed. "Sure do!" Antonio said, smiling. "It does keep our lives interesting."

"Ja…that it does." Ludwig said, thoughtfully.

And with that, they walked into the kitchen as well.

Feliciano smiled as Antonio and Ludwig walked into the kitchen.

"So, you're the one that taught Lovino to put tomatoes in pasta?" Feliciano asked.

"Yep, sure did!" Antonio said, beaming.

"Well, it's really good!" Feliciano said.

"Ja, it is. I've never had anything like it." Ludwig said.

"Well, stick with me and you'll have some of the best food you'll ever have!" Antonio said.

"Ok, bastard, you can stop bragging about it." Lovino said.

"What? I'm just saying that I know good food." Antonio said.

Lovino rolled his eyes and began searching for something to cook with.

"Good. I want to learn how to cook more types of food." Feliciano said.

"I'd be happy to teach you." Antonio said, smiling.

Lovino looked at Antonio, eyes narrowed.

"A-And Lovi too, of course!" Antonio said, nervously.

Lovino huffed and returned to his task.

When everything was all sat out they began preparing the food.

As they all cooked together, Lovino couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness.

They were all talking and laughing with each other.

This was something he could get used to.

Them all eating together and going out occasionally.

He couldn't believe that such a long time ago, he had been miserable.

He was living a happier life now and all the bad things that happened before seemed like just a bad dream.

He preferred this life much _much_ more than the sad and depressing life he had once lived.

He even liked Ludwig now and his relationship with Feliciano didn't bother him anymore.

He could even consider him a friend now.

Instead of an enemy.

He _had_ saved his brother's life, after all.

Lovino figured that after that, his previous hatred towards Ludwig was unnecessary.

And eventually, Lovino found himself acting more amicable toward Ludwig.

They were almost like a big family, the way they got along.

Feliciano was right indeed.

The more the merrier.

And indeed it _was_ merrier with all of them under one roof.

They could finally both be happy.

Lovino couldn't believe that _he_ had been the one who had been standing in the way of both of their happiness.

But he didn't have to worry about that anymore.

He didn't have any more fits of jealous rage.

And he wasn't jealous of Feliciano's loving relationship with Ludwig anymore.

He now had his own loving relationship.

With Antonio.

The one who he had saved twice.

The one who had saved him from the depressing haze that was once his life.

Lovino loved Antonio.

Antonio loved Lovino.

Feliciano loved Ludwig.

Ludwig loved Feliciano.

And if brushes with death was what it took to make them realize that, then so be it.

After all, peace and love was better than hateful jealousy.

* * *

Sorry, if I made any mistakes with the German I used. I hope I didn't make any grammatical errors. I sprinkled some German words in, but I don't think I made any mistakes. But if I did, let me know and I'll fix it. And I hope you all got the reference I made. Sorry if I offended anyone, but even _you _have to admit that it was stupid! The ending may not be perfect and I was debating on how to end it but I think it's an alright ending. So sorry if it disappoints anyone. But believe it or not, this was actually better than the ending I had planned to give it. But, all in all, I think this is a good ending. Not too bad and not necessarily perfect, but good.

P.S. And also, **roseprincess546**, I told you I could see that song in my story. It was just a matter of deciding where to put it. I think it fit quite nicely. Again, thank you all for reading my story and reviewing it. You gave me hope that my next stories will be worth reading too. And like I always say, read and review. And look forward to the next story! =).


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